Dreams, Past and Present
by Temnascentric
Summary: What happens to Alex? What happened to him to make him into the person we saw in the games? Why does he always seem to be working with the bad guys until the end? And why did he have a kid? This story attempts to give a reasonably believable background keeping with canon as much as possible for not only Alex, but the entire premise of the series. Don't worry, it'll be finished!
1. Chapter 1

Dreams, Past and Present

Alex sighed. He put down his cup of coffee, got up out of his chair, walking over to the somewhat dirty window of the inn, and stared through it into the distance. Looking past the desolation of what used to be a beautiful village in the mountains, he glimpsed the peak of what was once a mountain sanctuary, built to honor the sun and moon, Sol and Luna. It was still glowing with the awesome power that had bathed it just a few short months ago.

Sitting back down, he noticed his coffee was cold. Annoyed, he sent a sharp burst of power flickering through it. As he was a Mercury Adept, he had complete control over water and its many forms, but the Golden Sun had given him control of its temperature and other properties.

That didn't erase the pain though. He winced as pain flared up his back in a blazing line. The Wise One's attack may have been a bit overdone. Casting Ply, he noted wearily that, yet again, it had little effect. Draining his cup, he walked over to the innkeeper and tossed a medium-sized bag of coins on the table. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I found this inn to be very comforting," said Alex as he walked out. The innkeeper began counting the coins, and suddenly yelled, "Sir, you've overpaid me….by over a hundred coins!"

"Keep it. You need it more than I do."

* * *

**In the ruins of Vale, a few hours later.**

A blue-haired man walked among the rubble of the once-tranquil village. He stopped suddenly and bent down. He picked up a shining object from the dirt. It was a coin. Bouncing it deftly on his palm, he walked on. His destination was not clear, even to himself. He just felt drawn to the place of his "rebirth," as it were. He was not alone. Another blue-haired individual joined him on his walk, her cerulean robes fluttering slightly in the breeze

"Troubles, Alex? Is it your back again?" Mia asked him.

"Yes, but that's not everything." His answer came out shorter than he intended it to sound.

"Have you tried-"

"Yes, Mia, I've tried the Water! It had no effect!" Calming down, he said, "I'm sorry, I'm just tired of it all. The mental fog, the pain…but most of all, I miss sleeping through the night."

Mia started. This was new to her. "…Alex? What do you mean?"

Damn. He hadn't meant it to come out at this time.

"I-It's nothing."

Not surprisingly, she didn't believe him, and she didn't leave it alone.

"Alex, answer me. What is it?"

"…"

"Alex, answer me."

A few minutes later, Alex stood up and started walking away. Mia got up to try to follow, but as her gloved hand was about to touch his shoulder, he disappeared in a flash of light. Not for the first time was Mia annoyed by his vast array of powers.

As she made to sit back down, she noticed a steaming cup next to her. She smiled. But she was sometimes pleased by them, she reflected, as she sipped the hot cocoa.

* * *

**Later**

Loud explosions rocked the tiny village as Garet finished off the last of the annoying little squirrels that had terrorized Mikasalla for the last five minutes or so. He grinned, and for the heck of it, blasted a trench all the way around the village. Isaac stepped out of the inn, blearily rubbing his eyes and grumbled at Garet's newfound heroic impulses. Every town from Dalia to even Garoh had received a top of the line defense system or something since the Golden Sun rose. Madra was thrilled, since during Felix's journey they had been terrorized by pirates, the Kibombo, and possibly some other group. Dalia had asked for a seawall and had ended up with two mountains, one to the north and one to the west. Alhafra got a great little seaport (the old mayor was gone, run out of town by Briggs and his crew, amid wild cheering from the townspeople). Isaac had helped rebuild their homes, and also gave them a real seawall, not two Mount Everests. And Garoh had been thrilled to receive its gate, while Maha loved the new cave.

But Mikasalla?

Well, they needed tourists. And a lava moat would do the trick.

They also needed sleep. As Garet guessed when a shoe hit him in the side of his head.

* * *

**Near Champa**

Felix strode down the gangplank onto shore and headed towards the cliffside seafaring village. Briggs had sent him a messenger pigeon telling him about the Alhafra ousting, which Felix was glad to hear, but then he mentioned that the food supply had started to run a bit low. While the jewels Briggs had found were enough to last for years, as the newly elected mayor of Champa, he felt that he had to prepare for the future. The soil was still awful, and fish were still scarce, so he had asked for help.

A loud thump echoed behind Felix as Piers jumped out of the ship, crushing another Aqua Jelly that was attempting to board the craft. "My ship, my rules. Lemurians do not like monsters on their ships," Piers had said to Felix, after the first few dozen violent jellyfish slayings. Felix didn't turn around. Instead, he knelt just outside Champa, peeled off his gauntlets, and dug his hands into the dirt. "Quake," he murmured, and the ground responded. He cut off the flow of Psynergy after a few seconds, judging the soil to be loosened up enough.

Piers looked on with some interest. He had seen Felix in battle, a sight sometimes more terrifying than the monsters they were fighting, and had observed a certain tranquility absorb the Adept, but had never seen him this calm.

After a minute of small spells, Felix stood up again, brushing the dirt off his pants and hands, then fitted his gloves back on. "Your turn," he said to Piers as he headed into Champa to talk to Briggs. Piers noticed that Champa had changed a bit since he had last seen it – the cliffs were now a bit more accessible and there were more houses. Felix didn't bother with the entrance to the caves at the base of the cliffs, instead molding the stone of the cliffs into stairs that he walked up as he made them, then disappeared after he stepped off.

Piers turned back to the soil, closed his eyes and released some of his power. Opening his eyes, he marshaled the loose Psynergy into a small rainstorm that covered about an eighth of a mile square near Champa. Then he turned round and walked to the beach, wading into the surf.

The seawater was warm. Too warm, he realized. That was why the fish weren't there; the heat killed them off. This was going to take a bit of power. Summoning all the Psynergy he had, he pushed it out in the form of a massive Megacool that radiated out from the beach on the seafloor. He pushed more, making it reach as far as possible, passing the Angaran Islet, and reaching almost to the Sea of Time before he tapped out of power. He stumbled backwards as the massive loss of Psynergy took its toll, but managed to right himself. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a Psy Crystal and grasped it firmly before it disappeared. Finished, he turned around and headed towards Champa.

* * *

**Inside Sol Sanctum, in the remains of the Elemental Stars chamber**

A flash of light lit up the pitch darkness of the ruined chamber as Alex warped into reality once more. He let loose some of his power to light up the ruins, and surveyed the wreckage of the once-placid inner sanctum.

"Back again, Alex?"

Alex turned towards the source of the voice, startled by the presence of another being in the inaccessible cave. A huge eye, dimly lit by Alex's spell, shone in the darkness. Alex poured more power into his spell until it lit the whole chamber, revealing the Wise One.

"Must you gloat so? Have I not paid for my sins?" Alex asked softly. "My motives were impure, but my actions have saved the world. As opposed to yours, which caused the deaths of hundreds."

"You would do well to remember who you are talking to, Alex. Should I remind you?" rumbled the guardian.

"You would do well to reflect upon your own actions. If one thing had gone amiss, three lives would be gone, and three heroes would have been permanently scarred and crippled in reward for saving the world."

The chamber shook as the Wise One roared. "Do not presume to know my motives! Do not think that you can judge me! You wished to subjugate the whole of Weyard to your will! I punished you accordingly!"

"And? What purpose has it served? You say you cannot interfere in the affairs of mankind, yet you meddled with Isaac and Garet, with Saturos and Menardi, with Karst and Agatio, with Felix, Jenna, and Isaac's parents. With mine, too. I will not deny that in my case it shaped me for better, but what about theirs? Why do you not tell them the truth of what is to come if you interfere so much already?"

The Wise One's eye glinted dangerously. "You tread on ever thinner ice, Alex. Even a master of water must know to respect the dangers of his own element."

"I know respect. And I do not respect you."

And with a flash of light, he was gone.

* * *

**Lalivero**

The Laliverans looked on in awe as Sheba and Ivan sparred psynergetically. Ivan would call down massive thunderbolts from the sky, and Sheba would deflect them with barely a flick of her wrist. The reverse was also true. They seemed demigods to the Laliverans.

Ivan threw another bolt of plasma at Sheba. She dodged it easily, then grinned as she wreathed her hands with electricity and made a vertical slash with her palms, following her opponent's movements across the sky. A corresponding blade of pure voltage erupted from her, heading for Ivan. He tossed a small tornado out, rolling up the blade like string, then let it dissipate. They both laughed; neither could make any headway. So they descended to the earth and walked towards Faran's house.

"We've never seen anything like that! That was incredible, you two." Faran walked out of the house, congratulating them both. Since the rise of the Golden Sun, quite a few natural disasters had occurred as the world woke up and fed off the elemental energy once more. The Laliverans in particular had been badly affected – the quake from Venus's activation had left the town in shambles, and the recent disasters had been devastating. So Ivan decided to stay with Sheba in Lalivero to help ward off any storms that would plague the small town. The display of power they had just thrown off was to help with morale; many of the townsfolk were grumbling and cursing the lighting of the Lighthouses.

Since the Golden Sun rose, the Adepts had gained significant new Psynergetic capabilities. The refreshing of the planet's energy fed their own, so their abilities, already augmented by the djinn, were now nearly godlike in scope. Ivan could turn back a massive hurricane single-handedly, while Sheba focused more on land storms.

Sheba smiled. "Thank you, Father."

Ivan blushed a bit.

At that moment, a townsperson ran over and yelled out, "Sea storm! Help us! It's headed this way!"

Sheba turned to Ivan. "Shall I?"

"Be my guest," he replied.

They followed the panicked woman to the coastal cliff overlooking the Sea of Time. A massive hurricane – no, two – no…

No less than six huge storms were heading towards the mainland.

Sheba grinned. "Ah, a challenge." She shot off into the air, closely followed by Ivan. They landed on one of the newly upheaved islands off the coast and turned towards the storms.

Ivan waved his hand and one crashed into another. The two storms apparently had opposite rotations, because both fell apart. He waved at another one, and plasma blasted it apart. He smiled and turned toward Sheba but the grin quickly faded when he noticed something was wrong.

She couldn't even produce a spark.

"I-Ivan…something's wrong… I-I can't feel my Psynergy."

* * *

Ok, I've been away for quite a while. Well...I'M BACK BITCHES!...as Vegeta would say in DBZ Abridged. :) Anyway, I'm getting readers in China and Spain?! Wow. :) Don't forget that little review button!


	2. Abeyance

A few days later….

Ivan walked through the town to the edge of the wall. He looked out at the sea, sighed, and took off into the air. He landed on the small islet off of Angara where he and Sheba had fended off the freak storms about a week earlier.

Or, at least, Sheba had tried to.

While the apparent loss of her Psynergy was not permanent, it was frightening. She had gotten injured in the getaway from the island, as Ivan had dropped her while trying to get them both away. She had been able to summon some power to right herself. But as she slowed downwards, her speed forwards had not. She had slammed into a tree, and had been knocked out cold.

She had still not woken up. Thus Ivan's restlessness.

Gripped by a fear that he would lose her, he decided to go to Imil, to get some of the healing waters that now poured from the Lighthouse. Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice a slight drain on his power. He took off, heading towards the north.

Behind him, on the island, near where he had just stood, was a small, pulsing black and purple speck. Black lightning flashed out of it at irregular intervals.

**Imil**

The blue haired healer walked through the frozen town, which now sported an impressive set of ice walls, etched with beautiful murals. She smiled. Justin and Megan had had their latent powers awoken by the full return of Alchemy to Weyard. The ice walls had been placed there by Mia herself originally, but her two apprentices had apparently expanded upon it.

She slowed down a bit and looked at one of the murals, depicting the Mercury Lighthouse being lit. She remembered the battle atop the aerie as if it were yesterday. She recalled her despair when she realized that she had failed to keep the Lighthouse from being lit. Looking back at her worry over the lighting of the beacon, she didn't know what to think. It still evoked mixed feelings.

She continued on her way, heading towards the sanctum, but slowed again as a large usage of Psynergy caught her attention. She looked up and saw a small green speck shoot towards the Lighthouse. Concerned, she began to head towards the beacon as well.

Ivan dropped out of the air, landing near an elderly couple, startling them before they recognized him. "Ah, Ivan! It's good to see you! How are you?"

He waved them off, and they noticed the urgency in his movements. They stepped aside, and he ran to the fountain. As he filled a large flask with the healing waters, he heard footsteps behind him.

"I-Ivan? Are you okay?" Mia asked. "Where's Sheba?"

Ivan told her. Mia looked troubled. "Do you want me to come back with you to Lalivero? I'm a healer, so I might be able to help."

Ivan shook his head. "I didn't bring the Teleport Lapis with me, so I don't think you'd be able to-" His words were cut off as a sudden, blindingly bright flash of light appeared in front of the fountain. Alex stepped out of its heart, his robe slightly askew.

"Do you require any assistance, Ivan? Mia?" asked Alex.

Ivan snarled and hurled a bolt of plasma at the Water Adept. At such close range, Alex could not evade it, and was borne aloft. Ivan put such power into his attack that the Adept landed on the aerie of the Lighthouse. Ivan didn't wait for him to recover; instead, he wreathed himself in lightning and – _vanished_. Not with a flash of light like Alex's Warp, but was just gone.

With a crack, he rematerialized at the aerie, floating in midair.

"Stand up, Alex," he growled.

Unfortunately for Alex, his last impression on the majority of the Adepts was one of powermongering. The only one to know otherwise, to know the new Alex, was Mia.

Alex groaned. He hadn't expected to be so severely affected by a blast like that. He rolled over onto his knees and slowly stood up. He waved his hand, and his faculties returned to normal. He turned towards his opponent, his mood evident on his face.

"Must we quarrel so? If you intend to pursue his course of action, then let me remind you that this is the heart of my element, and I am a master of water."

Ivan grinned evilly. "Let me remind you – water conducts electricity." He threw another bolt at the Adept. Before it could reach Alex, though, a wall of ice appeared between the two of them. The bolt dug into the wall, then ricocheted off into the Mercury beacon, sizzling, then fizzed out. Both wheeled around, looking for the source of the spell. Mia flashed into view.

Both of the two fighting Adepts looked at each other, then looked back at Mia, and raised an eyebrow in unison.

Mia appeared startled by her sudden arrival at the aerie, as she began to flail to keep her balance. Alex warped to her, steadying her.  
"That's a new trick," he remarked.

"Ughh...uuugh….I think I'm going to be sick….How do you do that..?" she asked. "Practice," he answered.

"Alex." Ivan's voice was quite evidently ticked off.

"Ivan, leave him alone." Ivan raised an eyebrow at Mia's statement. "He's…he's changed from the person he was before. Just…leave him alone." And with that, she sent the contents of her stomach over the edge of the aerie. Seconds later, a faint yell of disgust and horror was heard from the fountain area of the Lighthouse.

Alex patted her on the back. "Are you ok, Mia?" He waved his hand, and the strain on her faculties disappeared. He waved it again near the edge of the aerie, and a large orb of water coalesced in the air. Closing his hand into a fist, he severed the connection to the orb, sending it downwards. A second yell wafted up from the courtyard. This time, it was a bit more surprise than anything, since it was intended to help whoever had been hit to get cleaned up.

"Care to explain what is going on, Mia? I have to go, Sheba is hurt!"

"Here." Alex walked over to Ivan with Mia and closed his eyes. "Lalivero, right?"

**Lalivero**

Faran started as a flash of light illuminated his house. At the epicenter of the flash of light stood Ivan, Mia, and one other blue haired individual. Faran squinted, then his eyes widened in realization as he recognized it to be one of Saturos and Menardi's companions, Alex. He let out a yelp, and scrambled for one of the swords that hung on the wall.

"Faran, stop! It's ok, he's here to help!" said Mia.

Alex winced as she said that; his back twinged again, and his grimace did not go unnoticed by either of the other two Adepts.

"Him? After… After what he did with those two?"

Alex stepped forward. "Faran, I apologize for the strife my actions have caused…I have learned from my past, and hope to make a better present, to help atone for my decisions…I heard that Sheba was hurt. May I?"

Faran stepped aside, though he obviously was still not pleased about having a power-hungry, near-all-powerful Mercury Adept in his house.

Alex walked to the bed where Sheba lay, still comatose. He wreathed his hand with power and ran it around her in the air. His face fell as he did so. While he could heal her, and she would be fine, he could feel the remnants of an aura that he recognized, and despaired at doing so. "Ivan, tell me exactly what happened," he said, his voice sharp.

"We were trying to turn back some storms that were about to hit the coast, and she just lost her power. When I tried to get us off the island, I dropped her, and-" Ivan was cut off as Alex wheeled around faster than any of them thought possible and barked out, "Which island? Now!" Ivan, surprised by Alex's sudden change of demeanor, said, "The Angaran Islet, over there," pointing. "Come with me," Alex said, and walked out of the house.

"Should I come too?" asked Faran. "You're welcome to, but be careful. Grab my hand. Ready?"

FLASH.

**The Angaran Islet**

Faran coughed and stumbled as they suddenly appeared on the island. "Where?" Alex demanded. Ivan pointed, then faltered as he saw a bolt of purple lightning snake out from behind a shrub. "Stay behind me. Faran, can you use Psynergy of any sort?" Faran, surprised by the question, said, "No, why?" The Water Adept replied, "Because that…that is the worst thing in the world for those who can. Look." Faran walked slowly around the shrub, and saw the source of the lightning. "Wha-what is that? It looks like – well, it looks like a hole in the world!"

"It's a Psynergy Vortex. Stay back, everyone. Mia, do you have a Psy Crystal? Good, keep it ready. Faran, if this doesn't work, I need you to get me away from the Vortex. Prolonged exposure to it will kill me. Ivan, Mia, whatever happens, STAY BACK!" Ivan looked as though he might be sick. "It makes me feel empty to look at it," he said, starting to look a bit green.

"This is what the Wise One didn't tell you… These have been popping up all over the world. They suck the elemental energy from whatever and whoever is around them. It will kill an Adept if the Adept is foolish enough to come into contact with it for a minute or so, or stays in the area for a prolonged period…This is why Sheba lost her power. It drained all of her Psynergy. Non-Adepts will experience mild nausea, but they won't die, at least nowhere near as fast as an Adept. But with the upheaval Weyard is going through, these will wreak havoc as they devour the elemental energy around them." Alex turned towards the Vortex. It pulsed, and seemed to grow larger. "If one of these were to materialize at the aerie of one of the Lighthouses, it could be disastrous…" He trailed off.

"Stay back," he repeated, walking towards the Vortex. "Alex…What are you going to do?" Mia asked. Somewhat detachedly, Alex noted a small catch in her voice.

"Just…stay back." He knelt in front of the Vortex, now the size of a small tree stump. He could feel the drain on his Psynergy. He lifted his hand up and pointed at the Vortex. Then he plunged his arm into it. His three companions each cried out in shock.

Alex didn't really register their reactions. His arm was cold, incredibly cold. He felt his power being pulled out at a prodigious rate. He almost fainted from it, but he snarled and forced himself to focus on his Psynergy. He growled, and pulled back on the power in him, until finally, the flow out of him reversed, and he began to reclaim what the Vortex had taken.

The Vortex shrank, but did not disappear.

Alex suddenly let loose all of his power at once, forcing it into the Vortex. The black hole shivered, grew, shrank, then…disappeared.

So did Alex.

Hello there! It's the author! You know, the guy who wrote this? Hello?

(cricket. cricket.)

Aw, come on…

Well, anyway, where are dem reviews?! I need to know what you guys think! I do have a problem with characterization, so…..

Hit that review button or I'll hit you!

And no spam reviews, please.


	3. Ivan's Bad Day

Darkness, and in that darkness, nothing.

Alex floated, or so it seemed, in nothing. There was no up, no down, no feeling, or smell. It was a total absence of anything. He released some of his power, and the area around him lit up.

He shivered. Drained as he was, he could not light up a very large area, but it was enough to see what – actually, _who _ – was in front of him.

"Why have you detained me? Must you constantly go after me?"

The Wise One's eye narrowed. "I warned you not to defy me. They must not know what is happening. Not yet. And now, they shall panic. Panic causes death, Alex, or had you forgotten?"

"Release me," Alex said curtly. The Wise One's eye narrowed even further. "Do you really intend to challenge me, weak as you are? Even at full strength, you could not challenge me." Alex shook his head. "I do not intend to challenge you. Not right now, and not here. However-" Alex was cut short by a Psy Crystal bonking him in the side of his head. He caught it, and looked around. A faint light hovered above him, then disappeared. He frowned, then turned back to the Wise One. "I may not have the strength to defeat you right now." He crushed the crystal in his palm, then gasped as his power rushed back to him. "But I can still let you know what I am capable of. And let you know that I am not fooled by you." He waved his palm, and a tsunami appeared, then shaped itself into a blade, slicing through the darkness and striking the rock that was the Wise One – or was it? As the blade struck, the Wise One's outline blurred, then cracked to reveal – nothing.

"You made your mistake in detaining me. Now you will stop. Leave, now," Alex said.

The area where the false guardian had been seemed to twist. Some of the darkness seemed to coalesce into a form. Then it defined itself, settling into a Psynergy Vortex, which then pulsed.

"Do not delude yourself, Alex. You cannot defeat me," said the vortex.

Alex sighed. "Drop with the guises. They do not fool me, Xela." The vortex faded away, to reveal a bright, shining corona with a shape at its heart. The corona of light faded, contracting closer to the figure, although the figure's features were still indistinguishable.

"You would do well not to delude yourself either. I expelled you. I defeated you once, I can do it again," said the Water Adept. "Maybe so, but you only did that with the help of another. I doubt you could do it by yourself," Xela grinned maliciously. He stepped out of the corona, into the darkness, face cut in half by the shadows. "In either case, you can't totally get rid of me. The ancients could only imprison me, and only temporarily. Soon, I will be free again." Alex started to show signs of irritation. "Stop with your dreams of power. The past is gone, the present shall not see you, and you shall soon not have a future."

"I think not, Ale-" The world's most evil entity was cut short by a concentrated blast of scalding water to the eyes. "AAAAGH! MY EYES! WHY THE EYES?!" Alex grinned, then warped out of limbo. Contrary to the belief of many, he did have a sense of humor.

**Weyard, Vale**

Jenna walked through the ashes of the village, to Sol Sanctum. Blasting the doors apart, she walked in. Following it all the way to the end, she arrived at the entrance to the Elemental Star room. Here she was stopped, for she could not go any further; the gateway was gone, disappeared once the last star had been removed and left the chamber. Here she sat, pondering what she had recently gone through. Her mind drifted back to the events on the aerie, after the horrible battle…

**Mars Lighthouse, Aerie**

"….Who are they?" Ivan asked. "That's what I was trying to warn you about!" Kraden said. "The Wise One knew he couldn't stop you, so he played a cruel trick instead."

"Jenna, let's go figure who these people are while they try sort this out," Sheba said. "No, Jenna! Don't look! You mustn't look! It will only bring you pain…." Kraden shouted after her. "What do you mean, Kraden? They can't hurt us anymore. We'll just-" And that was when her world collapsed.

Her mother and father, and Isaac's father, were the people laying on the beacon.

**Present **

After that, she didn't remember much, just a huge hole in the center of her heart. She had lost her parents once, along with her brother. Then her brother had shown back up, alive – hooray – but then informed her that they had to light the Lighthouses that would end up destroying Weyard through Alchemy's return, so they could see their parents again and save the world. Wait, what?

She had slapped him then, hugged him, and slapped him, then crisped him with Fume, then hugged him again till his ribs cracked. Saturos had had to literally peel her off of her brother, while Menardi tried to avoid looking at the curiously shaped burnt bald patch on Felix's head. His cape didn't get off so easily, resulting in him having to change it soon after the debacle on the Venus aerie, which left him with an old blue rag.

Later, once she had acclimated to what had happened, and what needed to happen, she began to somewhat enjoy the journey. She had found Saturos's obsession with eating airborne fowl hilarious, if tasty, and Menardi, she learned, had such control over her Psynergy that she could literally knit with fire, and then "freeze" it, so the fire held together and didn't burn. They were literally masters of Mars Psynergy, and she actually learned a lot from watching them.

A sound roused her from her memories, and she looked up. A Slime was creeping towards her, apparently trying to catch her unawares. She crisped it thoroughly with a Dragon Fume, then got up and stretched and started the trek back out of the sanctum.

**Angaran Islet**

"What just happened?" Faran was the first of them to regain their ability to speak. Mia shook her head. After the Vortex had disappeared, she had desperately thrown the Psy Crystal at where it had been. To her surprise, it had disappeared. Ivan had leapt after Alex, hoping to catch his cape (only for Sheba's sake), but had missed by inches, as he seemed to vaporize. Ivan now sported a lovely black eye from the shrub. Faran just gawped, but understandably so. The only one out of them who knew anything about the Vortexes had disappeared.

They were understandably freaked out.

Suddenly….

FLASH.

Alex warped back into being, looking somewhat disheveled, but ok.

Mia was the first to react, but in a somewhat embarrassing way. She made to go over to him, but tripped over Ivan's rod and ended up flying into Alex. Ivan grinned inwardly, but kept his face straight. He didn't need another black eye. Faran just gawped again, something which he was fast becoming an expert on doing.

"What happened? Alex? Are you ok?" Mia gabbled out, as she helped him to his feet.

"Yes, Mia, I am ok. However, Xela is not, and he is very pissed off. He…He is why I can't sleep through the night. That's what I was talking to you about in Vale…I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Alex said.

Faran and Ivan looked puzzled, but Mia frowned. "He tried the Wise One trick again?"

Alex nodded. "Shot the little terror in the eyes with scalding water. It made me feel better. Bit tired though…Ooo, that's a little…" And with that, the world's most powerful human Adept conked out.

**Lalivero**

Mia was the one who warped them back to Lalivero this time, since Ivan couldn't seem to go all freaky thunder-god again and Alex's mind was temporarily AWOL. Ivan immediately regretted not being able to do so as they all materialized in different locations, apparently due to Mia's inexperience with the technique.

He himself ended up in an old couple's house's bathroom, while the wife was in there….erm….taking care of business.

Ivan now smelled bad.

So did Faran, but Alex and Mia ended up fifty feet up above the river, splashing down with enough force to drench those within fifty or so feet thoroughly. Luckily, this included Faran and Ivan. Alex didn't even flinch; he was still out cold.

They reconvened at Faran's house, once Faran and Ivan had finished washing a bit more of the stink out of their clothes. Mia tried to rouse Alex, but to no avail. Ivan was all for trying to rouse him electrically, but Mia quickly put a damper on that once she got a look at Ivan's eyes and the mischievous glint in them.

So they sat and waited. After a day or so, Alex stirred, snorting. Ivan, jolted from the "sleep watch," as they called it, inadvertently let off a spark, shocking Alex, who, upon the contact, shrieked and jumped high enough that he hit the ceiling. Mia was not pleased or amused at all. She did not listen to Ivan's protests that it had been an accident.

Ivan now had two black eyes.

This was just not his day.

**Later**

Faran rubbed his eyes as the sun streamed into the open window. He got up, stretched, and headed to the kitchen. Much to his surprise, Sheba was there, cooking breakfast.

"When did you wake up, Sheba? Are you alright?" Faran asked, much the concerned father. Sheba smiled. "Just an hour or two ago. Alex healed me, but wouldn't say what had happened. Scared me when I woke up and saw him. I accidentally kind of electrocuted him…." She trailed off, a fainter smile lingering on her face. Faran was somewhat amused.

Alex, sitting in the other room, was not amused. While the electrical shock did not affect him too badly, it did flare his back up again. Mia was starting to get worried, but Alex waved her off. "Help Ivan," he said. "Those black eyes look painful. What happened to him for him to get two in the space of on day?" Mia told him, and he smiled that she had been so protective of him. "I appreciate your concern, Mia. You're the only one who has really ever seen anything good in me since…since then…" He trailed off.

"Well, the last thing that we knew, you were scaling Mt. Aleph to try to attain ultimate power. What else were we supposed to think? Although… I suppose we should have guessed that something was up…..I don't know if Sheba ever told you this, but… In Jupiter Lighthouse, Sheba said that she read your mind." Alex stiffened slightly. Mia continued. "She said that you were thinking, 'Even now, I want to run to Mia, to give her my aid. It seems I am weak as well. I suppose I shall have no choice but to part ways with Karst and Agatio.' I didn't know what to think of that. Felix, silent as he is, told me that you mentioned me in Alhafra. A-Alex…." She trailed off. Alex sat up in the bed and turned to her, his stiffness from earlier lessening. "What is it, Mia?" She looked up at him, eyes shimmering slightly. "I-I didn't realize… On the Mars aerie, I said I felt sick and disgusted that you were one of the Mercury Clan, because I thought you wanted to…to be a tyrant. If I had only known…." A tear ran down her face.

Clueless as he was when it came to emotions, Alex recognized the emotions in front of him. He understood them, though, and felt them in return. He got up out of the bed and sat next to her wrapping an arm around her. She sniffled a bit, and returned the favor with a hug. He stiffened, then hugged her back. "I should have known, Mia…I should have," he murmured back.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, GS community! 2969 here. Alright, so I'd like to make something a bit clearer. I do not consider Mia and Alex relatives, since I do not recall any mention of it in the game (am currently running it through again to make sure). Therefore, yes, MiAlex will be here. If they both survive. Heh heh heh heh….. And please, for Chrissakes, review. I need to know how I'm doing. Thank you, Guest, for your reviews! I can see you guys on the traffic graphs!

**Three days later, in Lemuria.**

"You go too far, Conservato," the king rumbled, eyes flashing dangerously. The water in the fountain began to vibrate. "It is the truth…Your Majesty." Conservato spat the title like it was something sour. "Do you not recall the damage Poseidon wrought on our city when he was awoken by the Mercury and Venus beacons? We lost half our city! We are still having trouble draining the old sections of the city! You do not deserve to be the king if you are so blinded to the negative effects of the Lighthouses and do not see the needs of your peop-" Conservato's ill-advised rant was cut off by a block of ice whacking him in the head. The king's hand glowed slightly from the power it had just released. His eyes flashed, then glimmered intensely from anger. Conservato knew he had gone too far, and quickly made himself scarce before the king made him extinct. Hydros sighed and sat back into his throne. Since the last Lighthouse had been lit, Conservato had been getting bolder and bolder in his insinuations and accusation

Piers had returned about two days earlier, having dropped Felix off near the Karagol Sea (the Venus Adept had simply waved a hand and an entire section of cliff turned into sand, forming a beach) beforehand, and Conservato had, quite ill-advisedly, tried to get the soldiers to put him out of Lemuria. The soldiers had turned around quite fast once Piers had started levitating slightly. Conservato, ignorant of the huge disparity of power between the two of them, had tried to enforce the exile order himself. The result was something like watching a modern-day squirt-gun-wielding Boy Scout attacking a fire truck hose.

It had taken them the better part of the two days to get Conservato off the top of the ice tower, which overtopped the palace by at least five times its height.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" Piers walked in from the roof where he had been listening. "Should I make Conservato another ice tower?" A faint smile of amusement tugged at his face. Hydros sighed. "No, leave him be for now. He's probably scurrying off to the Senate. He'll probably leave out the reason for him being whacked on the head with an ice block, but I doubt they'll listen to his story."

Piers shook his head in disgust at the slimy senator's actions. "They'll eventually stop listening to him completely. Even their patience has its limits," he said, the phrase echoing something he had said long ago in the Madran jail…..

**Madra, almost a year ago…**

"I am sorry she was injured, but I cannot-" Piers started to say, but was cut off by the angry villager. "I don't want your sympathy, freak. I want you to get angry for me!" Piers started to get annoyed. "Stop, please. Even my patience has its limits." Shin turned to his friend. "Hey, don't you want to see what he'll do?" His friend shook his head. "I think we should just stop." Piers snapped. "If my words will not cool your temper, then…" He bowed his head and summoned his power. Shin suddenly found himself atop an icy pillar that appeared out of nowhere. Surprised, he fell off of the top, facedown. His friend looked bewildered. Shin jumped up and screamed, running out of the jail. "Did you do that?" his friend asked. "What did your friend expect?" Piers replied, his eyes cold as the ice he had summoned. "You monster!" the villager yelled.

"I-I am no monster," Piers said shakily. The villager jumped. "Heeeellllllpppp!" he whooped, running out of the cell as well.

Piers released a breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding, shuddering. A group of three young travelers and one rather elderly man complaining about food entered the jail, but he paid them no mind. He reflected on his actions. _Why did I use my Psynergy in anger? I must retain control, my actions should never cause regret-_ His thoughts trailed off as he sensed something._ I…sense someone using Psynergy._ He turned around, looking, but the only people he saw were the travelers, one in front of his cell. Apart from the traveler's haunted eyes and powerful demeanor, there was little else remarkable about him, save for the honking sword on his hip._ That person – could he; no, he is not of my people. _He turned around again, facing the wall. _When will I be free?_

Lemuria

Piers had never been to a "school" ; there was no general education in Lemuria. Hydros allowed everyone to read the royal library's books. Through this, Piers had learned that Lemuria had once traded with many other countries, great civilizations on par with Lemuria. Lemuria was the last, apparently, according to a strange pair of travelers that had come to Lemuria under siege by the elements. Piers woke himself from his reverie and asked leave from the king, which was granted. He went home and went to sleep.

His sleep was fitful, but not broken.

Prox

"We thank you Isaac, for bringing back the bodies of two of our bravest warriors. You are truly an honorable fighter. Thank you, from all of us." Puelle shook Isaac's hand warmly.

"No, it is I who should thank you," Isaac replied. "I only wish I did not have to bring them back like this…. I wish that they had not died."

"It is not your fault, Isaac. If anything, Saturos and Menardi should not have been so forceful." Puelle said. Isaac shook his head. "I see now why they were so desperate. They were only doing their job…."

Puelle extended his hand. "Come, let us leave such sad thoughts." He pointed to the inn. "You are probably tired from your journey." Isaac smiled. "Thank you Puelle, for you hospitality." They both winced as they heard an all-too familiar sound for Isaac, that of Garet making an ass of himself. Explosions lit up the sky some leagues away as Garet sparred with a few of Prox's warriors, Karst and Agatio among them.

Well, at least, Karst was. Agatio was now streaking through the sky in a flaming arc towards Puelle and Isaac. Isaac sighed. "Flint, take Granite and Quartz and help Agatio out." The small group of hyperactive earth spirits shot off like arrows, catching the massive warrior and slowing his descent to a more life-conducive speed. Isaac grinned, feeling somewhat mischievous and said to Agatio (who was now rolling around in the snow to put out his cape) "Here, take these. They'll help." He sent across Flint, Granite, Flower, and Crystal. When Agatio started to ask questions, Flint gave him the quick version of the instructions on Djinn. Agatio smiled somewhat evilly as he blasted off towards the battle on a geyser of lava. "Share them!" Isaac called after him.

"What-" Puelle started to ask, but Isaac said, "Wait for it…." Seconds later, a yell came from the direction of the sparring grounds. "Isaaaaaaaaac! Not faaair! I'll get you for this!" Garet yelled. A few seconds after that, both Karst and Agatio came flying towards Isaac and Puelle, dumb grins on their faces. "We got him, Isaac!" shouted another warrior as he rocketed past on a geyser of lava. Sure enough, Garet came flying down towards them, his flaming hair actually on fire. "Isaaaac!" Garet yelled out his name before crashing into him. "Not funny!" Isaac grinned. "What, and you having a ton of djinn is?" Garet growled in response.

**Kalay, the royal palace**

"And I don't care if your sorry bunch of thugs starve, you kidnapped my husband!" Layana was yelling at a very sorry looking bunch of thugs. "Well-" started Dodonpa. Layana looked like she was about to crisp the thugs right where they stood. Suddenly, a shadow stepped out from behind a curtain and started to move menacingly towards her. Dodonpa looked stunned, then leapt at the shape, as did the rest of his gang. Seconds later, the whole of the gang was sprawled around the room, and the figure grabbed Layana, hitting her on the head to knock her out. The doors suddenly slammed open. Felix walked in, eyes ablaze. "Leave. Now." The figure shook its head. "Now see, this is why people get hurt. They try to be the hero. Even the worst thieves in history couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can, little boy?" The figure snickered. Felix waved his hands, and the earth split open. "This does." The figure stopped dead, and cursed. "Great. Just my luck, a warrior… Later, kid." The figure made to leave, but Felix waved his hand and vines grabbed the figure. "Nice try," Felix said.

The would-be kidnapper took out a knife and slashed at the vines, then faltered as Felix started towards him. "Stay back. You don't know what you're dealing with," the figure said shakily. "Hardly," said Felix. "You don't. Now, you can either jump out the window, or you can deal with me." The figure looked out the window. It was about four stories up, with a pigsty at the bottom. Then he looked at Felix, and the massive sword on his hip.

He jumped.

**Later**

"Thank you, Felix, for saving my wife from being kidnapped. Although…who was that? If it wasn't anyone affiliated with Dodonpa, then what was he doing trying to kidnap her?" Hammet was walking around the room, occasionally stepping over a groaning ex-bandit.

"I do not know," Felix said. "Luckily, he can't go too far, not with a sprained ankle. I'll send Dodonpa and co to track him down, once they wake up. With proper equipment, I'm sure they'll be more than a match for a wounded kidnapper. I'll pay for their equipment, of course." He knelt by the thugs, one by one, and as he did so, put a hand on their shoulder, and a golden light emanated from his hand.

Dodonpa was the last to be revived. Immediately, he jumped up, somehow producing a knife (the security guards had frisked him and his gang), and started bellowing, "Where is he? Where is he? I'll kill him!" Felix and Hammet looked at each other in confusion.

Hammet asked, "Do you know him, Dodonpa?" The ex-thief nodded in assent. "Yeah, he used to work for me. When I decided to fix my game, he broke off, but not before he stole most of our money and burned our food and gear wagons. His name's Brendan."

Hammet raised an eyebrow. "So you've….straightened up?" Dodonpa sighed. "Why does no one believe me?"

**Kalay Marketplace**

"Will that be all, sir?" The weapons shop owner was slightly nervous at selling so many weapons to a former thief, as was the armor shop owner at selling armor. "Yes, thank you." Felix tossed a huge bag of coins on the store owner's countertop, large enough to bend the plank. "Keep the change."

As the group walked out of Kalay, Felix turned towards Dodonpa. "Don't kill him, just bring him back to face justice. No bodily harm, either. We clear on that?" Dodonpa nodded. "We'll be back in a few hours. He was never good at covering his tracks."

Felix fell back as the group walked out of Kalay, looking for all the world like the fictional Forty Thieves.

**Lalivero**

"Alex, are you ok?" Sheba laid a hand on his shoulder, and he jolted awake from his dreams, not knowing that he was seeing what was actually happening leagues and leagues away. He winced as his back flared up yet again. "Yes, I am ok, Sheba. My back is just acting up again…" She frowned. "Are you sure there's nothing that can be done?" Alex shook his head. "No Sheba… there isn't."

**Somewhere between worlds**

A figure floated in darkness, face shrouded in shadows. Alex's voice drifted across the void to him, and he grinned malevolently. "No, Alex…you are not alright. Hehehe…there is something that can be done, but a weakling such as yourself could never do it. Without me, you're nothing." His face suddenly flashed with internal light, a perfect copy of Alex's, save for the cruel eyes and the evil smile.

Author's Note: I should have made it a bit clearer before, but Alex's back is (initially) a result of the Wise One smashing him into Mt. Aleph. The continued pain is a result of another entity (not Xela). I am trying to put the Warriors of Vale across Weyard, so that it can be seen where they go in Dark Dawn, and why they are so well known. This will extend into Dark Dawn. Sorry for those of you who hate it…. Level 99 in less than 40 hours.

And thank you Guest for your continued support!

If the chapters aren't up on a regular basis, send me angry PM's. Writing fanfiction is much more important than my long term success in college….wait, what? ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Mia sighed as she sat in Faran's house, looking out the window. Alex had left three days ago, and she missed him. Not that she would tell anyone, considering the circumstances… Considering what had happened atop the lighthouses, and how severely he had betrayed them, she didn't think that anyone would understand.

It had hurt her to the core when he had left. She had grown quite fond of the boy who had been her father's apprentice, and had looked forward to working with him to protect the lighthouse. Then, suddenly, one day, he was gone. She woke up, and the bed across from hers was empty. He had left with a strange set of individuals, a man with scales on his arms and the regal air of a prince (and, according to the innkeeper, a rather strange fondness for cooked pigeons), a woman wielding a scythe with long blonde hair, and a teenager with the most haunted eyes and demeanor that anyone had ever seen. The auras of the strangers had been… powerful, to say the least. The boy had walked like the very weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Alex had seemed drawn to them soon after they arrived. They had, at first, seemed somewhat annoyed by his presence, then, suddenly, they let him into their party.

Soon after that, the group left.

Lost as she was in her thoughts, she didn't sense Sheba behind her, using her Psynergy to read her mind. Sheba was startled, to say the least by the healer's mixed feelings towards Alex. She left without a sound.

**Somewhere near Prox, one year after the Boulder**

"No, Alex, you have to slide to avoid the blow, not use your Psynergy! You'll run out eventually, idiot!" Saturos exclaimed angrily at the young Mercury Adept in front of him. Alex frowned. "My clan has never relied on brute force. We focused on honing our Psynergy, as opposed, apparently, to yours. I suppose fire and water truly are opposites." Saturos growled with anger. "We focus on both. Our environment demands it of us. But if you wish to test yourself against me, then you shall have your wish granted!" Alex was suddenly airborne on a geyser of lava. Surprised, he quelled it with an answering geyser of water. Saturos waved, and a multitude of fiery orbs appeared in the air. Alex dodged a good deal of them, quenched about twenty, then stumbled as a few caught him in the back. Saturos didn't wait for him to recover, instead leaping at the dazed Alex. Suddenly, the Mercury Adept dodged out of the way, rolling away from Saturos and firing off several blasts of water at the larger Adept. They caught him squarely in the chest, knocking him back several yards. He landed in a crouched position, then sprinted back towards Alex. Alex tugged on the higher reaches of his power and let loose with a massive wave of water that drenched the both of them. Saturos stumbled, then pushed on, though he was obviously somewhat drained. Alex continued to pelt him with blasts of water, but as his Psynergy dwindled, so did the power of his attacks. Finally, he ran out of power, while his opponent appeared little the worse for wear. Alex dropped to the ground, panting.

"See what I mean, Alex? If you wish to travel with us, you must learn to fight, or become drastically stronger. Otherwise, you need to leave and go back to Imil." Saturos turned around and headed back to the village, leaving Alex in the snow.

One week later, Alex walked into the shop in Prox. He plunked down a large bag of coins on the counter and bought a rapier, a helmet, an odd green robe, and a few nuts and four psy crystals. He started to head out of the village, but was stopped by Saturos, who handed him a pair of gauntlets. "You might want to use these," said the Mars Adept. Alex nodded and continued walking out of the village, soon disappearing from sight behind the blizzard.

_In Imil, there is an old cautionary tale, a legend, actually. It tells of a near-all powerful Adept that lived long ago, before Alchemy was sealed away. This Adept had complete mastery of all elements, not just one. He soon became a tyrant, seeking power above all else. The sages of the time knew what had given him such great power – he had inherited the power of all the elements, in an event similar to the Golden Sun. They had to do something. So they did the impossible, the unthinkable. To sever his connection to his power, they sealed away Alchemy itself, and thus saved the world from tyranny. Or so they thought. While the sealing of Alchemy weakened him severely, he was still exceedingly powerful. And yet, somehow, they managed to seal away the Adept, binding him in a small cave that was to be forgotten to time, never to be found, somewhere in the frozen wastelands of northern Weyard. But such was the Adept's power that he was able to still reach out to the minds of those who were around him, and even further. In time, the story says, the Adept became little more than a bodiless mind, but one still powerful in many ways. It was said that the Adept was still alive, but trapped in that cave. _

Trouble was, this legend was true, and the Adept had reached out to Alex's mind, influencing him to go with Saturos, Menardi, and the young teenager.

Alex pushed his way through the wilderness, seeking monsters to fight. Already he had defeated several ostrich-like creatures with oddly colored plumage and a few blue-furred goblins. The robe he wore healed him and refreshed his Psynergy, but did nothing for his weapons and other armors, and certainly did nothing to help him retrieve his rapier when one of the bird creatures pecked it out of his hands. This meant that he had to rely on his Psynergy to defeat the monsters.

As he forged onwards, he noticed that the monsters were thinning out. He hadn't seen a single monster for the past ten minutes, and thought that this was odd, considering that they infested the lower regions of the Lighthouse and the area around the village. He shrugged off the oddity for later investigation and continued to go towards the mountains, hoping to find more monsters there.

As he neared the mountains, he noticed an area that seemed to be a collapsed cave front. Curious, he blasted at it with his Psynergy, but it had no effect. He put a little more force into the attack, and the lower portion suddenly crumbled inwards, revealing a tunnel. He ducked into it, lighting it up by releasing unorganized Psynergy.

The farther he went down the tunnel, the wetter the floor became. He noticed that there was a slight decline, so the water should have run downwards, but it didn't. Oddly enough, in fact, it got deeper, almost seeming as if it was trying to get out. He raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't stop to examine it. He turned a corner and suddenly fell a bit as the floor beneath him dropped off into a pit quite abruptly. He picked himself up and brushed off the dust. Strangely, the pit was totally dry.

In the center of the pit, there was a column, with a clear stone on top of it. He peered at it, but could not see anything in it. He tapped it with his finger, eliciting a single, piercing note. Suddenly, a voice emanated from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "So, Alex, you have come." The voice chuckled. It spoke in a very deep, rich vibrato, but was tinged with a slight undertone of anger. "I knew one would eventually find me, but I never expected that it would be a descendant of one of those who imprisoned me so wrongly." The stone flashed brightly and suddenly liquefied, dripping upwards in the air, forming a face, a crude copy of Alex's. "What do you say, Alex? A descendant of the tottering, ignorant sages of old to fix their mistake? Come, release me, and we shall reignite the flames of Alchemy, as they should be." Alex frowned, then muttered a series of rapid curses. "Who are you?" he asked. "I have no name anymore, I have been imprisoned so long." Alex reached out and tapped the face, the stone just as unyielding as it had been a second ago. "How do I release you?" he queried, curious to meet the strange Adept. "I shall siphon a bit of Psynergy, Alex, with your permission, of course," the voice said, chuckling again. Alex suddenly felt a drain on his power as the strange Adept pulled on it. With a flash, the stone disappeared, leaving – nothing.

"Oh, crap," said the voice. "I don't have a body anymore. Too long, I suppose." Alex frowned. "So what now?" The voice seemed hesitant now. "I do not know. Perhaps with time, I could figure it out, but time is something I no longer have. Without a body, I shall not survive for long."

"Perhaps you could share mine? I assume that that is possible, then, considering you were able to inhabit a stone," offered Alex. The voice seemed to pause again, then said, "That is very risky… However, I do not have any other options at the moment, so I must." Alex felt a blast of wind, then gasped as he seemed to freeze when the air around him dropped drastically in temperature. He gasped again when he felt a drastic infusion of power, apparently from the Adept. He blinked twice, slowly, expecting some sort of voice in his head from the Adept, but found none. What he did find, however, were the Adept's memories, and they shocked him, as he did not understand just who this person was.

Suddenly, his head exploded in pain for a split second, but was still severe enough to bring the Adept to his knees, cradling his throbbing head. When it stopped throbbing, he rose, slowly, frowning. Whatever he had been thinking about, he could not remember. He shook his head and started out of the cave, not really remembering why he had been in there.

Luckily for Alex, the gauntlets Saturos had given him weren't just gloves. They had been imbued with a sort of protective spell, one meant to tie an Adept to their body. It was a protection against warriors having their spirits drained by necromantic enemies. What the Adept had been trying to do would have forced Alex out of his own body, although, for once, this bit of harm was not one that the legendary Adept would have wanted to happen. One gets lonely after millennia in a tiny cave. Unfortunately, the gloves' spell also backfired, in a way. As the Adept attempted to enter Alex's body, Alex's soul started to exit. Bound by the spell, it only went so far. As the Adept's mind entered, it was forced to merge with Alex's.

Effectively, Alex was no longer Alex, and neither was the Adept what or who he had once been.

A/N: Ok, NOW you know where Xela came from! Ooooh, and I am sooo going to get sued….. DISCLAIMER: This author makes no claim of ownership upon Golden Sun: The Broken Seal, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, or Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, nor does the author make any claim on any sort of ownership upon Camelot or Nintendo. The author does not own stock in either of these companies, and does not stand to gain anything of any monetary value from the publication of this fanfic or the nonpublication of it. The author has not been paid to write this fanfic, is not being paid to write it, and will not in some future event be paid for writing it, in any format, whether monetary or through the gifting of valuable items or some such thing (s), unless the owners of Nintendo and Camelot should see fit to do so. The author is not in any way affiliated with Camelot or Nintendo; however, in the possible future event of any such affiliation, any and all rights that the author may have to this fanfic, whether the author is aware of such rights or not, shall immediately transfer over to Camelot or Nintendo should they wish to take said fanfic and publish it as their own. The said entities can do so for profit, for recreational usage, or any such usage without any sort of claim of theft, plagiarism, or any legal charge being leveled by the author. The author shall not ask for or sue for or otherwise attempt to attain compensation for said possible usage, through the author's own avenues or by proxy through a second, third, or etc. party, and will only accept said possible compensation if it is offered freely by said companies. The author will sue whoever tries to sue Nintendo and/or Camelot to pay the author of this fanfic, should Nintendo and/or Camelot wish for the author to do so.

The author is not a lawyer, nor is the author affiliated with a lawyer or lawyers, to the best of the author's knowledge. The author did not hire a lawyer to write this for him. The author is not going to school to be a lawyer, nor did the author check out a "Legal Talk For Dummies" from a library or purchase one, nor did the author do so with any similarly topicced book or resource

Ok, now that that's over, I will not be introducing the third mysterious entity that affects Alex's back. That is a bit too much to juggle; three superpowerful people are enough to build this story up. Please don't forget to review!

On a more serious note, seriously, please do review. I am partly writing this as an exercise in my writing skills, but otherwise it is for enjoyment. I would appreciate the advice! And any typos aren't my fault; my laptop's keyboard is finicky – some keys do not register that they have been pressed. I have to bang the keys sometimes. :/


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again, GS community! Back with another chapter and another disclaimer. But before that, it's Hall Of SHAME time. If you don't have the guts to insult review and be logged in as yourself on this site, or at least leave a name or email address, then don't do it at all. Take a look people. Chapter two, some nutter left a text-based hand flipping the bird. Copy and paste it into a Word doc, should show up. I knew what it was because I've seen stuff like that before. Immature. I will not delete it, simply because I believe in free speech, but for future reference, flames are to be directed in the form of actual reviews telling me what you do not like. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: Don't sue me, Nintendo and Camelot. All my story are belong to you.

Author's Note: In a chapter or two, I will be skipping ahead a few years in the game timeline. This is to help bring the story more together. Don't worry; the story won't leave any of the present situations unresolved, besides Xela and Alex's back. (Secondary note: Xela is pronounced Zehl-uh)

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions, questions or concerns and you can't PM me, email me! I was told by a friend of mine that they couldn't PM me, so here are some email addresses you can reach me at! goldxsen  or jckocian .

* * *

**Somewhere in Angara, one day before**

Alex trudged though the wilderness, heading towards Kalay. Annoyed by the lack of a bridge or some sort of convenient passage across the Karagol Sea, he had raised the landlocked sea's floor into a land bridge, using strong ocean currents. He didn't warp to Kalay because he did not wish to cross the world between worlds at the moment. On especially long distances between warp points, he would have to enter Xela's realm, and he didn't want to deal with the little bugger.

So he walked.

Along the way, he was joined by a large group of other travelers, soon after he crossed the Karagol, apparently attracted by the evident safety that they would enjoy while near him. As they made their way towards Kalay, Alex cut trees down and blasted them away to form a trail, since there was no apparent one. On the plains, he blasted the ground to clearly indicate the pathway. Monsters were given a blast of water so strong it shot them clear out of sight. Although his powers clearly unnerved the travelers, they did not say anything, for fear that he would leave them behind. They needn't have worried, though, because he enjoyed helping them.

As they neared Kalay, some of the travelers branched off, heading towards Vault or Lunpa, being brave enough to do so because a small brigade of ex-bandits had been annihilating the local monsters. Since Dodonpa's expulsion from Lunpa, it had become a hub of trade, with the occasional theft being reported (usually when an old man was walking around nearby, but no one ever suspected him.). The rest stayed close to Alex, still fearful of the remaining monsters.

Once they reached Kalay, the group broke up into those that headed for the stores, the inn, and the bars. As Alex walked into Kalay, he winced somewhat at the sudden, jarring rush of sound that assaulted his ears. He pushed his way through some vendors who were haggling with a customer over the price of their armor, and headed for the palace. He waited as the guards announced his arrival, patiently at first, but as the minutes stretched into almost two hours, he got bored and began to hover around the palace, unnerving the soldiers at the doors. Finally the doors opened, but rather than a servant, it was Felix who came out, eyes casting about for a few seconds before locating Alex (who was now perched in an apple tree). With a war cry, he launched himself into the air, pulling the Sol Blade from its scabbard on his hip.

Alex was taken aback, not the least reason being that his dreams two days previous had indicated that Felix was there.

"Felix, please stop. Even you cannot defeat me, and it is neither the time nor the place to start trying to do so. We have bigger fish to fry, as the saying goes." Felix ignored him and pressed his attack, still airborne. Alex sighed. "Felix, stop. Now! I will have to warp Mia here to explain it all, and I don't want to do that right now!" Felix grunted in response. "Shut up Alex, and stop playing games." His sword cleaved downwards towards Alex, who suddenly wasn't there. Felix whirled around, casting about for the telltale flash of blue. Instead, he saw a purple flash. Apparently Ivan had mastered the freaky thunder-god technique.

Felix didn't even blink; nothing surprised him these days. But behind Ivan, Alex suddenly warped back into being. Felix pointed. "Care to help, Ivan?" Ivan turned. "Felix, hang on. It's ok, he's rectified himself….we think. He helped save Sheba." Felix eyed Alex warily, then sheathed his sword. "Fine. What's going on, then?"

"Before that….Felix, did Dodonpa come here about two days ago?" Alex asked the question out of a sudden desire to quell a thought he had. Felix gave Alex a quizzical look, then nodded. Alex frowned. "I assume that someone …Brendan?...tried to kidnap the lady of the city…Lady Layana, correct?" Ivan was shocked, not the least reason being that farseeing was the sole province of Jupiter Adepts. Felix was more than just shocked. For the first time in a very long time, his emotions played across his face. "How did you know, Alex?" he asked. "I-I don't know, Felix. I saw it two days ago, in a dream…" Suddenly the Mercury Adept was struck by a severe pain that flared up his back as if someone had just laid his back open with a sword. He collapsed, groaning and grabbing his back. Alarmed, Ivan and Felix ran to him, but could not get him to say anything coherent. Alex was slipping into the past.

* * *

**Ancient Vale, c. 3850 B.G.S. (Before the Golden Sun)**

The small group of Adepts wound their way up the hills to the base of the volcano known as Mount Aleph, squinting to see through the fast fading day. At the base, they stopped, and the blue-haired adept known as Alexander turned to face them. "My friends," he said. "What I say, I say with full knowledge of what my words mean for the world. We cannot deal with the tyrant anymore." Several voices murmured agreement. "We have essayed every possible contrivance against him, and only have succeeded in losing many of our bravest warriors.

"But there remains one thing that we can do. And I can guarantee that most of you will not like it. But I ask you to trust me, and give the idea a chance.

"We all know the legend of Mount Aleph. That it was the first thing that the gods created when they made Weyard. As a result it held the most of their power." He turned to the mountain, pointing. "The tyrant found it, and took it. The hole is still there." Indeed, the door-sized hole bored into the mountain was still perfectly shaped, the edges sharp as ever. "Since then, he has done nothing but cause misery."

He turned again, facing those assembled. "Consider yourselves all sworn to secrecy, for if any word of this reaches the tyrant, he will stop us."

* * *

**Ancient Imil, c. 3840 B.G.S. **

"Pull! Pull! Pull!" The crews of workers were struggling to haul the pallets of blue bricks up to the top of the growing tower. Alexander dodged a brick that shook loose from one of the pallets of stones. Since that night at the base of Mount Aleph, construction had begun on each of the Lighthouses. Rather than fully, permanently seal away Alchemy, the idea he had proposed had evolved into one of waiting until the world was fully ready. He chuckled humorlessly, the memory of old Braeson pointing out loophole after loophole and finally stalking off in a huff giving him some consternation. Braeson always was a heavy drinker, and a talkative drunk at that.

He started up the tower, occasionally helping a group of workers fill a pool, or haul some more bricks up. Finally, though, he reached the top, and he stood near the edge of the scaffolding to see below him. They were almost done with Mercury Lighthouse, the puzzles meant to stop any interference from the tyrant almost complete. But now, he had a task to complete. He pulled a clear and hollow diamond sphere from his pocket, rolling it in his hand. His comrade Landen, the Alchemy sage of their little band, joined him after a few minutes.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Alexander?" he asked. Alexander nodded. "We must, for if we do not, he will prevail." Both were distracted by a flash of light near the edge of the aerie. They both gasped in shock as the light cleared, revealing the Wise One.

"Wise One!" Both men knelt in reverence. "Why have you graced us with your presence?" The Wise One floated closer to them. "I simply wish to make sure that you know what you are doing, brave Adepts." The guardian turned towards Alexander. "If you do…Alexander, I foresee great pain in your future if this Lighthouse is used to seal away Mercury."

* * *

**Near Ancient Lalivero, c. 3838 B.G.S**

"And just what do you want us to do about it? It's not our fault that you can't build a silly house." The worker turned away from the family of four to go back to work

Alexander saw this and walked over to him, boxing his ears. "You don't help them, you're no better than the enemy. Remember that." The worker nodded and turned back towards the family, talking with them about the floor plan. Alexander smiled and headed back towards the foundations of the Venus Lighthouse. Due to the loose nature of the ground around the area that the Lighthouse was on, they had had to make a backup entrance several miles away, in the town of Lalivero. This caused a lot of grumbling among the workers, but they did it.

Suddenly, he heard yelling at the base of the Lighthouse. Running towards the source of the yelling, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The tyrant was destroying the Lighthouse.

Alexander felt fear claw its way into his heart. What now? he thought. A low rumbling near the coast answered his question.

Poseidon floated in the water, trident at the ready. Snarling, he bellowed, "**You will not hurt them, evil one! I shall not let you!"** Alexander gawked, considering the fact that Poseidon rarely deigned to even leave his post at the front of Lemuria. The sudden increase in exertion of energy must have attracted him.

The tyrant glowed, and a burst of energy shot to catch the sea god in the chest, or so it seemed. The god bent a bit, then responded by swatting the tyrant like a fly, making him crash through three mountains. "**Go, humans. I shall hold him off. Do not worry," **the ancient god rumbled. "Get to work, you nuts! Hurry!" yelled the foreman.

Due to the tyrant's attack, the security system in the front of the Lighthouse failed, and would not turn off, shocking anyone who tried to pass. They ended up having to make the backup entrance the actual entrance. Poseidon and the tyrant went after it for a week while they built.

CRASH. The tyrant was literally six feet under.

BOOM. The tyrant sent another (useless) bolt of energy at the sea god.

After a while, the tyrant realized that he could not defeat the sea god, that he was invincible. So he left, to the surprise of the sages.

A week later, Alexander received the news that his wife had died in a surprise attack on Imil.


	7. Chapter 7

Here's the latest installment of Dreams, Past and Present! Oh, and I am considering making a supporter for the tale of ancient Weyard that I am starting in here. Maybe it could span the whole "_Ages ago, or so the stories tell…" _thing. You know, explain what was happening back then. These cuts in Alex's viewpoint are meant to illustrate the effects of Xela on Alex's mind. (Xela only took that name since he was a "reflection" of Alex.)

A/N: If anything seems out of place in the stories, please let me know. I lost a good deal of my prewriting on D.P.P due to a glitchy computer. (It froze up, and while I'm clicking like a madman to get it to unfreeze, it recorded all the clicks. I'm still finding parts of Chapter 8's plotline in my WRIT 1302 documents. A fellow student pointed this out when we were doing peer reviews – I had "Alex" this and that, and "**B.G.S." ** in the middle of my paper. Red face)

But on with the story!

* * *

**Kalay, Present**

Felix and Ivan looked at the unresponsive Mercury Adept, who was now lying in a bed, still groaning and muttering incomprehensible words. "How long do you think he'll be like this, Ivan?" the Venus Adept asked. "I'm not sure… Apparently, his back has been troubling him for quite some time, ever since the Wise One…shall we say, intervened on Mount Aleph. According to Mia, his actions were not completely his own to command when he was traveling with you, Saturos and Menardi. Some entity named Xela… Supposedly, the Wise One intervened and helped Alex banish him from his body on Mount Aleph, but the 'little terror,' as Alex put it, is still causing trouble. Have you seen any little purple and black holes in the air that make you feel sick? That's Xela manifesting his powers in the corporeal world." Felix nodded. "There was one over by where Champa is. I buried it in a mountain, since it drained my power." Ivan shook his head. "Blue-hair here can apparently get rid of them, but it drains him quite a bit to do so. I hope he wakes up soon, so we can ask him what is going on."

Suddenly, Alex shot bolt upright in the bed, screaming, "No!" and a name that was muttered too fast for them to hear. Both Ivan and Felix looked at each other and tried to rouse the Adept from the screaming fit, but he just gazed through them with unseeing eyes, now doused with tears. He fell back into the cushions, still sobbing.

* * *

**Ancient Prox, c. 3800 B.G.S. **

"I don't care what you say, Alexander, I say that it is suicide to seal away the elements! The world will die! He can't live forever!" Conserra stopped to take a breath. The man he had been yelling at, Alexander, took it as an invitation to talk, and did so. "He is far too powerful, Conserra. And have you not noticed that the more powerful the Adept, the longer their lifespan? He could live for centuries, even millennia, with his mastery of the elements. Truly, do you believe that we can beat him otherwise? Construction has already progressed way too far to stop on the Lighthouses, and Sol Sanctum has already been finished! We have already sealed away Mercury, and are close on Venus." Conserra threw an inkwell at Alexander, beaning him on the head. Ink exploded everywhere, splashing across the Mercury Adept's clothes.

Alexander regarded the fiery non-Adept across from him. "When you have collected your senses, Conserra, you will see that this was the only option," he said coldly, beginning to walk out of the town hall. He pulled a small blue jewel from his pocket, rolling it in his palm. "We must be rid of the tyranny." He turned around again, his eyes bright with tears. "Don't you understand? How traumatic it was to feel my element die? To feel my connection to the world just disappear? Even now, I want to scale Mercury, to relight my connection to the world. But I cannot, no matter how painful it is. I cannot think of myself. I cannot even bring a cloud to bear anymore, Conserra. I can barely even make water anymore. I-I lost my wife because of this. Our enemy destroyed nearly half of Imil, and she was in that half…" He turned again, the tears streaming from his face as he ducked out of the doorway. "I tell you this because you don't understand that I know what this means. Perhaps when the world is ready again, Alchemy can return. When they are more ready to use it for good, when they are wiser than we."

* * *

**Ancient Lemuria, c. 3770 B.G.S.**

"Are you sure you wish to seal off the last of Weyard's connection to Alchemy? For the world will decay, Alexander, and you do know that." The ancient king looked at the young Mercury Adept before him. "With all due respect, Majesty, it is all that can be done. We must end the fear that he has put in us." Suddenly, the palace rumbled. "Aaah…there goes Poseidon again. Something has happened to him since you sealed off Mercury, since he returned from the fight. He has been somewhat…off." As a soldier staggered in, blood seeping from a cut on his forehead, the king added, "More than somewhat…We shall have a Jupiter Adept deal with him. Perhaps when the world reawakens he will be as he was before."

Alexander shifted uncomfortably. "Majesty…In order to make certain that a tyrant will not come again, we must hide the truth of Alchemy. I-I know that this will be hard, but the world must reach a point where the sages relearn that Alchemy shall be used for good. When they learn this themselves, then they will be ready." The king nodded gravely. "I do see what you mean, Alexander. But to seal such a thing away is harder than you think. My own sages will take this very hard. Knowledge is power, and knowledge such as that will be a powerful piece to hold as the world changes. And how are we to eradicate all such knowledge? Surely there will be some scraps left in the farthest flung corners of the world." Alexander frowned, but did not say anything. "Alexander, are you alright? You have not been yourself during this visit." Alexander shook his head. "I have a lot on my mind, Your Majesty, that is all. I thank you for your concern, though."

* * *

**Somewhere north of Ancient Prox, c. 3769 B.G.S.**

The short procession of Adepts pushed their way through the sandy, wet blizzard. Since the sealing of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter, the perpetual light winter that had enshrouded the town of Prox had become a nuthouse of weather, with the town being buried under snow one minute and flooded the next, then seconds later having to dig itself out from underneath tons of sand. As the skeins of Alchemy stretched across Weyard snapped and were consumed by the planet, the conditions on the land became nearly inhospitable. Once Mars was sealed, however, the weather was expected to return to some form of normalcy.

The leader of Prox took the lead as they approached the base of the Mars Lighthouse, newly made and gleaming. He turned and addressed his warriors, asking them to come with him to the side. They did so, and appeared shocked at his words. Without a single one stopping to think, they encircled Alexander, Psynergies at the ready. Alexander was surprised, but less so when he saw the elder pointing.

Their enemy was apparently aware of their scheme in full, and was marching through the snowy sand to stop them. Alexander wondered why he hadn't sensed it, but the Adept in the blizzard was bringing to bear massive amounts of power to attack them.

"Go, Alexander. Run! It must be sealed!" the elder bellowed. "Go! We shall hold him off!" Alexander nodded and summoned all the power he could bring up and winked out of existence.

He reappeared at the top of the Lighthouse, stumbling, then falling over as the loss of power took its toll. His Psynergy had grown even weaker since a year ago, when he had Warped to Lemuria to talk to the king, and now he could barely stand. But stand he did, and hobbled over to the beacon, pulling out a clear ball from his pocket. He thrust his hand into the crackling sphere of Mars and shut his eyes as the Mars Star absorbed the beacon of Mars.

With a flash, it was done.

Loud yells from the base of the Lighthouse caught his attention as he tried to stumble to the elevators, only realizing as he heard the yells that they wouldn't work. He reached into his pocket and touched the other three gems there, their power refreshing and invigorating him. He grunted and flashed out of existence.

At the base, a grisly scene awaited him. Two of the warriors had been slain, very messily. One was missing his head, the other had limbs scattered across the sand. The remaining warriors were in bad shape as well, but still alive. The elder was untouched, surprisingly, and was holding his own with the tyrant, who, surprisingly enough, was no longer totally in control of all the elements, reverting mainly back to Mercury, though occasionally he would shoot out a spire of earth or retaliate with a blast of fire.

The old man still took it all in stride, batting away the water blasts like golf balls with his cane. He would then raise his hands and blast the enemy Adept with a massive Searing Beam.

Eventually, though, something went wrong.

As the elder prepared for another blast, a Wargold ran up behind him and hit him in the back. The old man went down, apparently with a broken rib or two. The enemy Adept took the chance to hit him with a blast of water, launching him over the Lighthouse.

This left Alexander alone, with a few wounded Proxian warriors.

Grimly he picked up a sword that had belonged to one of the late warriors. His opponent mirrored his actions, grinning malevolently the whole while. Alexander did not like his chances of winning, despite his proficiency with the sword and the spell. One of the warriors limped over to him and pressed some objects into his palm, before nearly falling into the sand – now covered in snow – and starting to dress his wounds. Alexander crushed a Psy Crystal given to him by the warrior, and pocketed the other items. Muttering under his breath, he started a complicated spell that would transport the Elemental Stars to Vale. Light flashed from his pockets as the Stars disappeared. The Mercury Star was still there, though, when the tyrant stopped before him. Alexander had to stop, for the spell needed the name of the destination to be said. The tyrant bared his teeth, growling. For the first time in a long time, the tyrant spoke to Alexander. "So, we have met again as enemies. A pity, really. We could have ruled side by side, old friend. Instead I find you ruining Weyard to beat me. No matter, though. I shall win in the end." With that, he leapt at Alexander, who warped out of sight, grasping the Mercury Star to give him strength. "Ahhh, naughty naughty, Alexander….No cheating!" The tyrant whirled around, casting his eyes about for the other Adept.

FSSHT. Alexander materialized right where he had left and knocked the tyrant as hard as he could with the butt of his sword. The tyrant stumbled backwards and shot an errant bolt of lightning at his opponent, who dodged easily. "Stop, now. I have nothing to lose. I will beat you, if I must give my life doing so," Alexander said. "Ah, come now, is that any way to treat your baby brother?" The tyrant looked up and grinned evilly. "Is it?"


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, sooo…I will not be continuing GCBC (Good Cop, Bad Cop) because it seems to A) be disagreeing with me, and B) is nowhere near the quality of writing I try now to attain and keep. Maybe in the future once I get my first year of college out of the way. Whether you are going to PM me if you want to contact me or if you want to email me, please do so! I love feedback, so long as it doesn't take the form of crude rude text based gestures…. Grrr... A few more chapters and I'll be skipping ahead to Dark Dawn, once I get Alex and the history all wrapped up. :)

* * *

**Prox, one year after the Boulder**

Alex walked back into Prox, standing much more confidently and self-assuredly than before. One of the first things he had done when he left that little cave was to track down the bird that had stolen the rapier and…retrieve… his weapon. He headed for the shop and plunked down the sword, robe, and the other items he had bought. "I do not require a refund, good sir," he said as the portly weapons seller scrambled to get the coins out. Surprised, the shopkeeper stared at the blue-haired Adept that walked out of his shop, less the gear. _Surely,_ he thought,_ that is not the same Adept that walked into my shop but two days ago._ Whoever had just walked into his shop was vastly more powerful than most any other Adept he had ever met, judging just from his aura. More powerful, possibly, than even Saturos and his partner Menardi. He shuddered. No wonder he had disposed of his weapons.

Alex looked around Prox, trying to find Saturos. He could not, so he decided to go to the training grounds. He tried to sort through his new knowledge of Psynergy, but he could not completely understand it at once. What he did understand, though, rather interested him.

The approach of a powerful Mars aura alerted him to Saturos's arrival. The crunch of snow sounded behind the Proxian warrior, signaling the presence of his partner, Menardi. "Alex." It was not a greeting, but a statement, with a hint of a question. The Mercury Adept turned around. "I shall be joining you on your quest. After all, don't you need a Mercury Adept to scale Mercury Lighthouse? I trust you scouted out the Lighthouse while you were in Imil, or tried to, anyway. You weren't able to get in, correct?" Alex smirked. Saturos approached Alex. "You seem different than before, Alex. More self-assured. You became stronger, I assume, judging by your lack of armor and weapons."Alex nodded. "You could say that, Saturos." The blue-haired Proxian nodded at his partner. "Let us test your new abilities, then." Saturos pulled his sword out and his partner took her scythe out. "You still have the gloves, Alex? Good," said Menardi. Without warning, she launched herself into the air, cleaving downwards at the Mercury Adept. A ghostly figure swung with her. He dodged smoothly, tossing his hand back without even looking to catch Saturos's sword in his gauntlet, surprising the warrior.

Alex smirked.

He followed the dodge up with a blast of water far more powerful than anything that he would have been previously capable of before without draining himself. The result was that Menardi was borne aloft on a beam of water that carried her out of sight over the village.

The shopkeeper stepped out of his shop just in time to have a sopping wet Mars Adept land rear-first on him.

Saturos was rather shocked, but he didn't let it show. He twisted his sword out of the Mercury Adept's iron grip and threw his hand out, shouting, "Eruption!" Answering bolts of magma rained against gravity out of the ground, blasting his opponent into the air. Or so it seemed. When the lava rush stopped, Alex did not come back down with the rest of the pillar of lava. Saturos heard a yawn behind him. "You done?" said a bored-looking Alex. "H-How did you do that?" Saturos stammered out. Alex smirked. "New trick," he said, and blasted Saturos in the chest, launching him off in a similar way to a Menardi. Saturos was prepared, though, and spun off the pillar by using some fire to vaporize the water pushing him. He dropped down, landing heavily.

At this point, a very ticked-looking Menardi walked up, still sodden and now sporting icicles on her scythe and the ends of her long blonde hair and skirt. She sneezed, setting off a small Blast, which lifted her off the ground yet again, but only for a few feet. She got up, snapped the ice off her nose, and walked over to Saturos's side. She waved her hand, and a Supernova split the sky in front of Alex. Saturos motioned at his partner and muttered, "Protect." A golden aura surrounded her, increasing her ability to deflect attacks.

Which she seemed to be having trouble doing. Alex seemed to be _toying _with her, and she was winded. He ran to her side and cast Potent Cure, but to little effect. He motioned, and a massive number of fireballs encircled Alex. Ten caught him in the back, but he used the motion to propel himself out of the circle of fire. While that was happening, Menardi got up, still winded but fight ready. To be safe, Saturos sent another healing spell her way. She responded with Resist, and the two launched themselves at Alex.

Who was now hovering in midair, an arrogant smirk on his face.

Saturos thought to himself, _This is just too much. What happened to him in less than a day?_ Menardi seemed to be thinking the same thing, judging from the look on her face. He growled. "Pyroclasm!" he roared, voice raw with power. Alex was caught off guard, and was quickly engulfed by the lava. It was now Saturos's turn to smirk. When Alex landed, he rolled around to put his flaming robe out, and stood up, looking annoyed. "That was my favorite robe," he remarked laconically. And he flashed out of vision.

* * *

**The same place, millennia ago…**

"So, _brother_, are you actually ready to do this? You never were more powerful than me." Alexander's brother smiled evilly. Alexander ignored him, circling him.

FLASH.

He warped in front of Alexander, driving his fist into his gut. Alexander gasped and fell backwards. But his opponent didn't look so good either. The warp had drained him; obviously, he had not anticipated the sealing of the elements to have reduced his power so drastically, and he was now rather pale. He shook his head and raised the sword, waiting for his brother to get up. Alexander propped himself up on an elbow, spitting out a tooth that had been knocked out by a collision with a rock. The snow started to get stronger, suddenly making both nearly invisible to each other.

And then time froze.

Alexander looked around in surprise. His brother was frozen, wearing that half-smirk of his. The snow was even frozen; he could see between the flakes.

"Alexander." Alexander wheeled around towards the voice. The Wise One floated in the air, near the top of a small snowdrift. Alexander knelt, head bent. "Rise, Alex. I am not a god, merely a guardian. I see your brother has chosen once again to follow the path of evil. I do not see this ending well for either of you if I allow it to continue. One will die, and I gather that you do still have familial feeling towards him." Alexander nodded, rising to both feet. "I wish that he did not choose this way, Wise One." The ancient protector blinked slowly as rings of power encircled him. "I see in the future many unpleasant things happening if he is allowed to survive. And yet…he shall be instrumental in lighting the Lighthouses once again, though he will not enjoy the rewards he will expect." Alexander blinked. "What shall happen then, Wise One? When shall it happen?" The guardian closed his eye. "I cannot say now, Alexander. I must maintain a minimum of interference. Unless the world is in immediate danger of being destroyed, I cannot interfere, and I cannot inform. I wish it were otherwise, but it is not." The Mercury Adept bowed his head. "However, given the current circumstances…Perhaps now I may do something." Alexander could have sworn that there was a hint of amusement in the ancient guardian's voice. Time unfroze suddenly, and the snow thinned out. His brother's grin slipped when he noticed the Wise One floating near Alexander.

* * *

Okay, I know it's a really short chapter, but I've had a lot on my plate. I have some GREAT ideas for the reasons behind Alex going to help the Tuaparang. Grab Dark Dawn, plug it in, and start a new file. Once done with the Tanglewood, check out what Isaac says when you talk to him when you leave to go on your quest. He's back at the Lookout Cabin, standing on a rocky outcropping. There's my inspiration. Plus….I have to throw some credit towards jollygreendragon, because without his Drops of Jupiter, this would never have been written. His Felix inspired this story. Thanks Jolly!

Signing off,

2969, possible name change to GoldenSunatic.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again, GS community, as silent as you are!

Cricket, cricket..

See what I mean? Well, here is the next fabulous installment of Dreams, Past and Present!

* * *

**Present Day…**

Piers jumped out of his vessel, immediately blasting yet another pesky Aqua Jelly that was trying to board the craft. He walked around the perimeter of the ship, quelling at least ten more before he was finished. Satisfied that no more were in the area, he turned and walked towards Yallam, the home of the obstinately lazy blacksmith Sunshine, who, despite his sunny name, had a disposition akin to an angry Skeleton.

Well, perhaps not lazy, but rather out of materials. Whenever the party had visited the smith with forgeable materials, he had gladly created weapons for them, but had simply just gone right back into his bed and moped once he had finished. His lack of work had ruined the economic activity in Yallam, since he was the only person that was left to stimulate the local trade since their unofficial leader, Yepp, had died a few years previous.

Piers intended to fix that, though.

A few days after Pier's arrival, the torrential rain that had started once the sailor had arrived finally let up. The blacksmith was nowhere to be found once it did for several hours. Piers smiled as he walked back to his ship to head towards Vale. The sailor was rather surprised when a flash of purple light illuminated the side of his ship. Ivan dropped to the sand heavily, panting. "Damn. Can't do that too often," he muttered before standing up and greeting Piers, who raised an eyebrow. "Ivan. How are you?" Ivan shook his head. "We need to all get together. We have a major problem."

* * *

**Near Mars Lighthouse, the past….**

"Wise One… You cannot interfere, I remember." Alexander's brother stated with a flat voice, though his eyes indicated that he feared the other possibility. "You remember wrong. The world is in imminent danger. Therefore I can act. I cannot fight you. However, your brother can." Alexander was suddenly wrapped in psynergetic light as the Wise One was encircled by rings of power. As the Wise One finished his spell, the tyrant leapt at Alexander. He was met in midair by a scalding hot blast of water that got him in the eyes. "AAAAAAUGH! My eyes!" he screeched, somewhat unnecessarily. Alexander smirked. The Wise One had given him full control of his element once again, as if Mercury had never been sealed. He felt energized, alive.

With Alexander's power, the fight was soon over. It ended with the tyrant literally being hog-tied with his own bootlaces. Ironically, normal bootlaces would not have been strong enough to hold an Adept of his caliber, but in his vanity, Alexander's brother had had them specially made.

Some time later…

"Elder? Are you alright?" Alexander waved his hand in the air around the old man, throwing out healing Psynergy again. The old man groaned. "I will be fine, Alexander. Considering what I've been through, it is a miracle. Did you…?" The elder left the unspoken question hanging in the air. "Yes, I did. The Wise One helped me. Only… Now we have to determine what we will do with him." The old man nodded. "Is the Wise One still here? I would like to talk to him." The room shimmered, and the guardian appeared. "I am here. I agree with Alexander, and, due to the …complicated nature of the situation, I have decided upon a course of action. After that…I must retreat."

* * *

**Kalay**

The group of Adepts gathered round the stricken Mercury Adept in the bed of the inn. He was groaning softly at first, then fell silent a few seconds after Piers walked into the room with Ivan. "What happened?" asked the Lemurian. Ivan had used his freaky thunder-god technique to get them both to Kalay from Yallam. Piers was not happy about leaving his ship to be infested by Aqua Jellies again, but he grudgingly went with Ivan.

Mia pulled him to the side; she had warped to Kalay when she had received a pigeon from Felix about Alex. Just as she finished explaining what was going on, the subject of their conversation awoke explosively. Literally. The whole bottom floor was suddenly drenched in two feet of water. Felix was thrown bodily through the wall by a massive wave of water. Ivan was buried feet first in the ceiling in a similar fashion. Mia and Piers were less affected as they were standing in the doorway, but were still swept off their feet.

Felix grunted, then shouted in pain as he moved his arm, which had collided forcefully with a timber. Apparently he had broken a bone. He waved his hand and a golden light enveloped the break, numbing the pain. He groaned and stood up, walking back towards the half-destroyed inn. He helped Ivan out of the ceiling, then looked at the bed. Alex was sitting up, staring at the floor. Mia hobbled over to Felix, waving her hand at his arm. Blue light encircled it, and the bone snapped back into place. He murmured his thanks, and helped Piers up.

Mia was the first to speak, sitting on the (dry) bed. "A-Alex? What's wrong?" He shook his head. "I-I saw the past…What happened, leading up to the sealing of Alchemy. I found out things I don't think I was supposed to." At this point, the sodden innkeeper finally made his way to the small room. He started screaming long before anyone could hear him once he noticed the holes and the water damage. Alex numbly waved a hand, and the water all suddenly steamed and disappeared, cutting short the man's howls of horror at the devastation and setting him to make terrified noises like a dying, constipated walrus at seeing the power exhibited by the strange blue man. He ran out of the room far faster than he had entered, still braying.

"We need to go to Lemuria. There are some questions I need answered. You said that the king wanted Alchemy restored as well?" Alex asked. Mia nodded. "Alright. Let's get everyone together. I found some things out about Xela and myself that affect all of us."

* * *

**Many miles away, in the air…**

The large ship plowed silently through the air. Two tall figures could be seen in a hangar on its side. One had long, dirty green hair sculpted to a peak and bluish skin, a large sword strapped across his back; the other fiery red hair, with black sections flowing through it, clad in a beautiful dress. They were examining the rather huge Vortex in front of them, which seemed to be feeding their own powers. The blue-skinned man turned to his partner. "What do you think we should do? We have noticed negative effects on other individuals." The woman nodded. "Let us depart for now. Our scientists are studying one currently, so we should worry about other things. We still have yet to determine the full effects of our presence near the peak of Mount Aleph on all of us." They turned around, heading back into the depths of the ship.

* * *

**The past…**

"So this is how it ends… He is in here?" Alexander asked. The ancient guardian made an approximation of a nod. "He is. Once he is sealed away, he will be given back some measure of power again, similar to how I gave you yours. It is for the future."

Alexander turned the stone around, admiring the deep blue color. "How long will that be? Can I know?" The Wise One blinked. "You shall see it yourself, Alexander. Go to Lemuria, Alexander. The king shall see you…"

* * *

**Later**

"Alexander…" The ancient king reached out to the young Adept. "I am not long for this world…" He coughed, blood staining the bandages on his chest. "Can't I do anything? Surely I can…" The king waved him off. "It is my time… my wounds have become infected. The best of our healers could not do anything. Perhaps I should not have tried to talk to Poseidon…" He trailed off, coughing again. When he started back up, his voice was considerably weaker than before. "I…I want you to take…my place as the …king of Lemuria, Alexander. You…are the only one that…we can trust with this," the king wheezed. "You…are the best…for the job. I have…complete faith in you…" The king shut his eyes. "Go…"

Two days later, the king's funeral was held, and Alexander was crowned king of Lemuria.

* * *

**Lemuria, present**

"So this is what it looks like today…" Alex said. "It is a lot different than I saw it in the past…much more decrepit than it was then." A voice at his side startled him. "You speak as if you saw it with your own two eyes, stranger." An old man in orange robes and with a long grey beard stood at his side. His face was familiar, but was oddly different. Alex sifted through his new memories. "Conserra, is that right?" The old man looked at him askance. "That was my grandfather's name. I am Conservato…Have you been blessed with backsight?" Alex nodded, and as he did so, Piers and the others arrived, having taken the boat. Piers had been royally ticked off about yet another addition to his craft: an icebreaker prow by a grateful Sunshine, but he had grinned and borne it, since the smith had displayed some prowess in eliminating the Aqua Jellies that had yet again invaded his ship. One would think that they were a running gag.

The old man seemed visibly shaken by the arrival of the powerful sailor, and was soon out of sight. Jenna (picked up at Vale) spotted Alex and, not yet having been informed of the circumstances, promptly sent three Dragon Fumes and a Searing Beam his way. Not that they had any effect; he sent up a watery shield and the flames sizzled against it and went out. Felix stopped the next volley, but his cape was burnt in the process of explaining to her the situation.

Alex walked to the palace, the group of Adepts behind him. Again, he waited as their presence was announced, floating around again like in Kalay. Unnerved, the guards asked him to come down, and were rewarded by the Mercury Adept teaching the rest of his merry group how to fly as well. Now they had a group of seven Adepts floating in the air. When the guards informed them that they could go in, they simply went onto the roof. Alex walked in first, followed by a burnt Felix, then Piers, Sheba, Ivan, Mia, and Jenna. But Alex stopped dead when he saw who was sitting on the throne.

"A-Alexander?"

The Lemurian king turned abruptly at hearing the name, cutting short the conversation he had been having with an advisor. "…I was called that once, a very long time ago…How have you come to know my name, young one?" asked the monarch.

* * *

Ahh haha ha ha…. I've been waiting a long time to get to this. Everything I write, I will try to keep within the realm of canonical possibility. I won't be updating much, as you can see, but I will by no means let this fic go dead. There is nothing that annoys me more than finding a really good fanfic and finding it unfinished and the author MIA. So don't worry!

Later! Oh and the emails are at g.m.a.i.l…. Let's see if that posts…


	10. Chapter 10

I actually started writing this chapter directly after I sent out the last one. Funny, huh? Anyway, the next chapter should wrap up the present. I'll skip ahead a few years for reasons not to be said – just yet. Hope you guys like it – I have about 600 views so far, so that's something, I guess. Oh, and if anyone can spot what movie I borrowed Conservato's entrance from, I'll give you a cameo in chapter 12 if you send me a PM with your appearance – no photos, just verbal desc..Or email me – jckocian at g.m.a.i.l.c.o.m or goldxsen, same site.

* * *

**Lemuria**

"How have you come to know my name, young Adept?" The ancient king repeated his query to a stunned Alex. "Y-Your Majesty, I do not know how. Only – I could never forget your face. I had some sort of episode earlier, about a day or so ago…I saw you, or someone that looked like you, sealing Alchemy. My memory of it is clouded somewhat though."

Hydros shook his head. "Nay, your eyes do not deceive you, young one. I am the very same Adept that you saw. I take it that you were the one that had the misfortune of dealing with my brother?" Alex looked confused. "Your brother?" Hydros – Alexander, Alex mentally corrected himself – spoke again. "Yes, my brother. I take it you are the one who found his cave and released him?"

At this, Alex nodded. "Actually, released may not be the best of terms to describe what happened. We shared a body and a mind, for far too long, in my opinion. That is why I can do many of the things that I can, such as this –" here Alex Warped to Felix's side, then back " – and this – " here he started levitating. "I taught my comrades to do something similar, though I am not sure if they will be able to do so outside of Lemuria, since there is so much loose power here."

Alexander stood up, getting out of the throne. "That is not what I expected. The Wise One said he would play a role in the release of Alchemy." Suddenly, the doors banged open, Conservato barging through them, robe in shambles and eyes wild with fear. "King Hydros! T-Th-There is something in the Senate building! It has already killed two other senators, and the rest are trapped!" Alex stepped forward. "Is it a black and purple hole in the world?" The terrified senator managed to convey that it was, then fell over, out cold from Psynergy loss. Something went crunch; probably a nose.

The entire party ran over to the Senate. Sure enough, a large Vortex was pulsing in the doorway, the motionless bodies of the two other senators Conservato had mentioned lying near it. A collective murmur passed through the group as they realized that to have gotten out, Conservato must have had to run through the Vortex itself. How he had done it was anyone's guess. Alex turned to Piers. "Tend to Conservato; there is no way he made it through there without damage to his body." Alexander waved his hand. "I shall do it. I have lived long enough to have garnered an immense amount of knowledge on the healing arts." The king gave a humorless grin. "And you are not the only one who can Warp, Alex." With a flash of light, the king disappeared. Alex surveyed the situation, turning back to the building. "Anyone have a Psy Crystal? I'll probably need a few…or the water from the spring would help." Piers waved his hand, and a large ball of spring water was siphoned magically through the air, to be poured into several waiting flasks.

Alex grabbed the flasks, fastening the ropes that were around the necks to his belt and putting the Psy Crystals offered by a still-burnt Felix into a pocket in his robes. "Here goes…" He could not Warp into the building; the distance between the landing point and the Vortex was far too close, and there was a good likelihood that he would be torn in two when he materialized – the Vortex could very well eat a portion of his body.*(see author's note at bottom for full Psynergetic B.S sciencey explanation.)

Which meant that he had to, yet again, destroy a Vortex.

He did not relish the thought of probably having to deal with Xela again, but it was something that had to be done. Pushing aside his trepidation, he trudged like a zombie towards the building, the Vortex sapping his power. He grabbed a Crystal, and plunged his hand into the Vortex. Crushing the Crystal, he pulled every ounce of power that the anomaly had sucked from the world, making the Vortex steadily shrink. Then, as before, he blasted every bit of power he had into it, the Crystal effectively doubling his reserves, as it replenished him, even as he pushed out his Psynergy. And again, as before, the Vortex grew, shuddered, shrank, then disappeared.

Thankfully, though, this time, Alex did not.

He dropped to the ground, exhausted by this effort. Pulling another Crystal out, he crushed it, shaking his head as his power returned to him. He moved to the sides of the senators, feeling for their pulses. One was nonexistent – he was dead. But the other had a weak, dogged pulse still going. Alex drenched the man in healing Psynergy, then left a flask by his side, getting up to tend to the other senators.

* * *

**Later**

In the aftermath of the Vortex, Alex and the others regrouped in the king's chambers. Conservato had recovered quite well, though he had fallen over when trying to walk, crunching his nose yet again, so he was put in a bed, despite his nasal protests that he was fine. Alexander was pacing back and forth, obviously stressed by the appearance of the Vortexes in Lemuria. Eventually, though, he sat down, and Alex walked to his side.

"Your Majesty, if I may, how have you survived this long? It has been several thousand years since Alchemy was sealed. Beyond that… How have you been king this long without raising suspicion?" Alex asked. The king gave a wan smile. "If you saw me fight my brother, then you must know how I won. The Wise One's power boost, along with the anti-aging influence of Lemuria, has kept me alive and well this whole time. It has been a trial, yes, but… As for why my longevity did not arouse suspicion, the kings of Lemuria generally do live longer than most Lemurians. Though I have lived longer than most, I have also been more careful than many of my predecessors. Few Lemurian kings have died of old age." Alex nodded, his curiosity sated. The king fixed his gaze squarely on the young Mercury Adept. "For my part, I wish to know what that thing was, exactly, and how you destroyed it." Alex gave him a crash course on Psynergy Vortexes.

While that was happening, the other Adepts congregated in a circle, discussing matters. "How can we be sure that the Vortexes are kept in check? None of us are on Alex's level of power without the use of our Djinn, and a Vortex will probably end up killing them. Sheba's Djinn were completely drained when she had her power sapped," said Ivan. Felix pointed at Conservato's room. "He was able to run right through it, and was able to get all the way from the senate to the palace and tell us what happened. And he is a marginal Adept, at that." Jenna butted in. "Why not work together? Surely all of us together are powerful enough to beat one lousy Vortex – after all, we all know how tough Dullahan was; there's no way Alex can be stronger than that." Alex walked over, having heard his name mentioned. "I'm sorry, but as it is, all of you together could not match my abilities. My power is nigh on infinite – that's why I am able to overload the Vortexes. Even with your Djinn, I am still more powerful. I shall investigate that, though. Isaac may have enough power eventually… The Wise One said on Mount Aleph that the reason that I did not get all the power I was expecting is that he placed some of the power of the Golden Sun in Isaac's hands. So he may have an equal measure of the power."

Mia walked over to him. "But what shall we do till then? You can't keep doing this; it's hurting you… I don't want to see you hurt, Alex. I don't want to see you killed." The rest of the group shifted somewhat uncomfortably, feeling a bit awkward now, since Sheba had (secretly) informed the group about the healer's feelings for Alex. She had tried to read Alex, and had noticed that he too was mixed up on the inside, but wasn't able to get much farther before he noticed how silent she had become.

Ivan pulled Piers aside. "Did you have any inkling about the king's true past?" The sailor shook his head. "His Majesty has never indicated that he knew anything about the sealing of Alchemy, let alone that he was involved in it. And Conservato…his grandfather must have had to suppress his true feelings and knowledge to protect the world. I wonder…" Piers trailed off, staring at the clouds that eternally hid the sun in Lemuria.

The rest of the group dispersed, save Alex and Mia, heading to the rooms that the king had offered soon after they regrouped in his chambers. Alex fidgeted somewhat awkwardly, not sure how to talk to Mia. He was a bit confused about his feelings, as far as where they came from, but… Her hand felt for his, and grasped it firmly.

Alex's eye started twitching.

* * *

**Prox, the training grounds, one year before the Boulder.**

"That was my favorite robe," remarked Alex laconically, and disappeared.

Saturos whirled around, not about to let his opponent get the better of him. However, it happened anyway, just not how he expected it. Menardi crashed into him, sodden yet again, bearing the both of them into the air. Alex was standing in front of where she had been, hand still streaming water.

Their flight came to a rough halt against a small outcropping of rock, Menardi's weight knocking the air from his lungs. Saturos wheezed, then peeled his partner off of him. Tossing her a Crystal, he crushed one himself, then retrieved his sword. Menardi hefted her scythe, murder in her eyes. The icicles on her nose somewhat ruined the effect, Alex observed. Then he was forced to observe the flames that were licking at his robes from Flare Storm, and hopped out of the flaming ring, yapping as a stream of lava caught him in the rear. Quenching the fires, he noticed that he had holes in his pants as well. That ticked him off quite a bit; Mia had given them to him. But at the thought of her, a wrenching pain wracked his skull. Screaming, he went down, clutching his head. Menardi was beyond sympathy currently, but Saturos stopped her from incinerating the stricken Adept. Alex's shrieks suddenly cut off as he passed out.

He woke in Saturos's home in a rather comfortable bed. The Mars Adept knelt in front of a fire, turning a spit slowly. "You better?" the warrior asked without turning. "Yes…I shall be fine."

* * *

Ok, here's the explanation for Alex not Warping the senators out. My thoughts on the Warp are that the user basically converts their entire being to Psynergy (kind of P=mc2. P is Psynergy.) This Psynergy then moves at a high rate of speed to the destination. On longer journeys, the power is less likely to hold together (meaning that one could materialize with bits missing that one would almost certainly want to keep, so transferring temporarily to a different dimension is the safer way to go. Alex could not do a short jaunt into that dimension because Xela was right there, causing the Vortex. Took me a while to develop this theory. On a side note, Ivan's 'freaky thunder-god' technique is not the same – it is instantaneous movement.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And I really hope I'm not one of very few left here…. Please review! Prove me wrong!


	11. Chapter 11

So I got the last chapter up relatively quickly – glad about that. Looks like I'll get this one up even quicker. And yes, Guest, you were correct about the movie and scene that I borrowed Conservato's entrance from! Good job! Cameo earned in chapter 12 – just send an email or P.M.

**TROLL! TROLL **in the dungeon!... Just thought you might want to know. *crunch* Hahahaha, still gets me.

So now we skip ahead a few years! And as far as the B.S Psynergy science thing goes, let's just say that I am having Alex be one toe short on his left foot.

* * *

**Ten years later…**

**Somewhere in the skies of Weyard…**

"Have there been any more results concerning the Vortexes?" the tall swordsman demanded of the portly scientist. "N-No sir, th-the l-last p-probe we s-s-sent in-nto the V-V-Vortex disapp-ppeared." The scientist's stutter was an odd one, only ever acting up this severely around the tall man. It wasn't from fear, exactly, but rather intimidation. The swordsman's companion sidled up to the scientist's side, patting him on the back to calm him down. "Don't worry, it's okay. We understand that you have been working as hard as you can. Just be careful." The swordsman sniffed haughtily. "Honestly, Chalis, you are far too soft." Chalis turned to her partner. "And you, Blados, are an ass sometimes. Far too hard and insensitive." She walked towards him. "This poor man has been working day and night-" she half-turned towards the scientist "-When was the last time you slept?" The scientist shook his head. "I d-d-do not kn-now." Indeed, his eyes had huge bags underneath them, and the lab was littered with cups of half-finished coffee. Chalis patted him on the back again. "Go get some sleep. You've earned it." The exhausted man didn't need any further convincing, or a bed, apparently, collapsing on the floor, snoring like a bull moose. Blados snorted. "Ugh. Now what?" Chalis smiled at him. "Now you put him in his room, in his bed. Nicely." The blue swordsman rolled his eyes and heaved the scientist off the floor with one arm, swinging him like a sack of potatoes across his shoulder. The man stirred. "Mrtha, putt da cookz inna pntry…" he mumbled, sounding drunk. Blados grunted, then headed for the room at the back of the lab, where the scientist lived.

Chalis herself stayed in the lab, looking at the Vortex that had been artificially created and was now encircled by a protective barrier. A door in the side granted access to the anomaly. _What are you? _she wondered. _And why do things like you keep popping up everywhere?_

_And why do you keep getting bigger?_

* * *

**Imil**

"Alex? What's wrong?" Mia put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Nothing, Mia. I…just have a lot on my mind. That Vortex last week, at the aerie of the Lighthouse…that could have been disastrous, had I not noticed it. Xela is playing at some game...I'm not sure if I'll be able to figure it out in time to stop it." He dropped into a chair in the living room of the house they now shared. "And they're just getting bigger. They end up affecting more people…and I can't be everywhere…" They had been unable to locate Garet and Isaac ten years previous, for some reason. It was almost as if they had dropped off the face of the earth. Then, just recently, they had surfaced, in a cabin near Mount Aleph. And Isaac had finally developed vocal cords that saw regular use (as had Felix in the intervening years, thanks in large part to the efforts of his sister). But the duo in the cabin had made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the powerful Mercury Adept, despite hearing the party's explanations. Isaac had become slightly reclusive and introverted, far different than his happier demeanor that he had displayed in his younger years.

Alex kneaded his temples, trying to fight off a headache he knew was coming on. Then, at the corners of his senses, he felt a disturbance in the world; a sort of sour-tasting touch in his head. He groaned; another Vortex had popped up near Imil. "I have to go, Mia. There's another Vortex near the town walls." She nodded. "I'll come with you." During the intervening years, the two had become very close. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about kids, since they were both Adepts that were masters of the body (A/N: Yeeeeeaahhh, I know, TMI.). Marriage was currently looking likely, considering the closeness of the pair. He smiled; he was planning to propose later that day.

They both Warped to the inn, close to the Vortex. They walked out, and stopped dead in their tracks. It wasn't the proximity of the Vortex; Alex had opened their pantry on more than one occasion and found a Vortex eating the rice or Mia's chocolate. No, it was the size that got them.

This one was in the air about twenty to thirty feet above them. It was nearly that size in diameter. Black and purple lightning bit the air right in front of them, though it was almost ten or twelve yards away.

A hand was snaking out of it. The arm that it was connected to was draped with robes that, thanks to the visions he had had many years ago, Alex would never forget.

Xela was breaking out.

Suddenly, kids didn't seem like such a big deal.

* * *

**Tuaparang airship**

Chalis gave a start as the Vortex pulsed several times in quick succession, then cried out as it rapidly expanded, shattering the glass and felling a beam. It crashed down on her, pinning her to the floor. She shrieked in pain; a large shard of glass had been hammered into her leg. Other shards of glass peppered her face. Blados ran out of the scientist's room upon hearing her cries. He tried to pull the beam off of her, but even his immense strength could barely budge it. He ignored the Vortex, now pulsing at a frantic rate of speed. "Guards! Get in here!" he barked. The soldiers were in there in an instant, bows at the ready. "Go get some other men!" he yelled at one. The man ran out of the room so fast, he left an image of himself where he had been. The other two men jumped over the wreckage to land at Blados's side, grabbing the beam and heaving.

The whole room shook with the pounding of feet as a small army of soldiers pushed its way into the small lab. A small contingent of slim men dressed in odd clothing got to work disassembling the machine that was sustaining the Vortex. Blados waved impatiently at the rest. "Get this off of her! If she dies, I will personally make sure you regret it for the rest of your sorry lives!" He jumped over the rush of men that leapt to follow his order, pulling his sword out of its scabbard as he did so. "Move!" he bellowed at the techies, who scrambled out of his way. His massive sword came crashing down, cleaving the machine in two. It sparked, let out a pathetic whine, then died. As it went, so did the Vortex – except it stayed as a small speck, barely visible. Chalis cried out as the soldiers lifted the beam; it was taking the jagged piece of glass with it. Blood spurted everywhere. Blados yelled an order to stop at the soldiers – evidently, the shard had cut an artery in her leg. He ripped a piece of cloth from a soldier's coat and wrapped it around her leg, jerking it tight. He motioned for them to continue, and they heaved the beam away. Chalis immediately passed out, and blood flowed from the cut on her leg, though not as fast. Two more soldiers ran from the room to fetch some doctors. The rest of the small army of men went out into the hallway, milling about as they waited for the investigation team to arrive.

Suddenly, the Vortex pulsed again – once – twice – then a strange bolt of something exited it. It splashed onto the wall, and immediately disappeared. It happened so fast, none saw it.

Unfortunately, Alex was correct in his assumption that Xela was breaking out of the other dimension. He was orchestrating something alright, but nothing too quick. Xela was playing the long game.

* * *

**Imil**

Alex stared at the arm for a long while, before his brain kicked in and told him that he needed to move. He levitated, snapping an arm out to catch a Psy Crystal that Mia tossed at him. Where she got them was anyone's guess – Alex had once joked that she had more Psy Crystals than her and the party had had in the entire time that they had crusaded to relight the lighthouses. He ascended higher, until he was level with the grasping hand. A face started to push its way out of the swirling Vortex. "Hello, Alex. So nice to see you," rasped Xela. Alex wasted no time on formalities; he drew his hand back and blasted Xela yet again in the eyes with scalding water. The result was strikingly similar to what had happened before: "AAAAAUGH! WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE EYES?!" shrieked Xela, reeling. He had barely opened his burnt eyes before Alex pasted him with a punch to the chin. This sent Xela tumbling backwards, back into the Vortex. Alex quickly plunged his hand into the Vortex, grasping the Crystal. He repeated the process that had by now become almost routine – overloading the Vortex to shut it down. As the Vortex shrank, Alex began to descend. However, Xela was not about to let him get away that easily. A bolt of purple energy came crackling from the rapidly dwindling opening of the Vortex, impacting heavily on Alex's back and blowing a hole in his new robe. He flew in a steaming arc, crash-landing some distance away. Mia Warped to him, worry evident in her eyes. Behind her, the Vortex shrank to nothing.

She knelt by his side – he was out cold, and was still smoking. Through the hole in his robes, she could see where the bolt had impacted with him. Purple lines snaked out from the epicenter of the impact site. She put her hand out to shift so she could heal him, and her hand landed on something hard. She looked at it, and lifted it up to her eyes. It was a small box. She put it to the side for the moment and began to heal Alex. He groaned, then laid silent. Once finished, she turned her attention back to the box. It was hinged, and was covered with black velvety cloth. She opened it, and her breath caught in her throat. She started to cry, tears of happiness streaming from her eyes freely.

"Yes, Alex…I will."

* * *

had fun with this chapter. And I did get it up rather quickly, didn't I? Don't forget to email or P.M me for your cameo, Guest!


	12. Chapter 12

Rejoice, all ye faithful! (Cricket. Cricket.) Ugh…Well, at least I have you, Guest!...I hope. :/ Well, here's the next chapter of Dreams, Past and Present!...Even my DBZ fic got more views and reviews within its first month of being out than this has in the whole time it's been here (1,700 and 22, as compared to 600 and 12.)Well, I keep my promises. This will be finished! And it will be good!

* * *

**Ten months later…**

"I don't care if you don't like it, Alex, but it's not what you like, it's what is good for you! I married you, but you need to give some as well! Now stop it!" Mia shouted. Since that day months before, when the Vortex had appeared in Imil, Alex had been acting progressively more strangely, culminating in this latest argument over the marks on Alex's back. Ever since that day, something had changed in him, and he had seemingly recaptured a portion of his old self, when Xela had merged with him. Mia wondered if that might have been what was happening now.

"I cannot live in such a hostile environment. Perhaps it would be best for the both of us if I departed for now," Alex replied in that calm, smooth manner that had marked him during their travels. Before Mia could catch hold of him, he Warped out of their house. Mia wilted visibly at this, and collapsed back into her chair. Dealing with Alex left her exhausted. Sometimes she wondered why she said yes to marrying him. She loved him, yes, but his actions made her wonder if he felt the same anymore. Certainly, it had been a short time since they had been wed, and that was hardly an amount of time that one would expect it to be possible for someone to fall out of love with someone else, but she couldn't help but wonder what had changed in him.

Beyond the icy walls of Imil, Alex Warped back into reality. He smirked evilly, like he had so many times during the adventures to light the Lighthouses. He flashed again, and was gone.

* * *

**Tuaparang Airship.**

A flash of light illuminated the landing bay of the airship, signaling the arrival of the blue-robed man to what had become a sort of second home for him over the past four months. A tall blue-skinned man and a beautiful red-haired woman awaited his arrival. "Arcanus." The name uttered by the swordsman was not really a greeting, more of a statement, a habit that more and more defined the skilled swordsmaster as time went on. "Blados, Chalis." 'Arcanus' nodded in turn to both of them. "So nice to see you again. I trust everything is going according to plan? No more…incidents?" The seemingly calm nature of the question held an unspoken undercurrent of a threat. "No, my dear Arcanus," Chalis laughed, tossing her hair over one shoulder with a gloved hand. There were claws on the fingertips, 'Arcanus' noted. Someone had been training. "Apart from a slight problem with a scientist, we have had the best of luck with the Vortex machines. We're right on schedule," she said, grinning. 'Arcanus' nodded, pleased. "So I assume all is good with the Empyror?" he asked. "He has no idea what we're planning, does he?" Blados stepped forward. "Enough with the fake politeness, Arcanus. We have only two objectives right now, and this sycophantic twaddle isn't helping matters any. So get to the point of why you came here, or leave." 'Arcanus' raised an eyebrow. "Getting cocky, are we, Blados? An overgrown blueberry like you shouldn't be getting so high and mighty. Tsk tsk." 'Arcanus' tutted at Blados like one might at a small child, his voice laced with false disappointment and real mockery. Blados snarled in anger, yanking his sword out of its scabbard with incredible speed and leaping after the blue-robed man. "My, my, Blados. Still touchy about insults? Tut tut. Temper, Blados, temper. Keep it under control, or I will do it for you." Blados failed to pay attention to what 'Arcanus' said and slashed at him. His blade passed through empty air, much to his surprise and annoyance, but listening closely, he was able to discern the sound of quietly flapping robes directly above him. He swiftly tilted the blade just as it was about to hit the ground and turned the diagonal slash into an overhead swing. It was now 'Arcanus's' turn to be surprised, and as he did not have time to Warp away, he received a slash on his right cheek as he tried to hop out of the air. Wincing, he ran a hand over the cut and it glowed, and the cut sealed, but left an ugly, ropy scar behind.

He grinned. "Thank you for that excuse, Blados." He stood up, erect as a statue, and brought his arms up a bit from his sides, bowing his head. Blados looked at him quizzically until the airship began rumbling. A pillar of water suddenly bulled through the wall of the hangar, hard as rock, and struck Blados head on, smashing him through the other wall. 'Arcanus' made another motion with his hands, and more water appeared in the view from the hangar doors. He began pulsing with power, and levitated, then flew through the hole that Blados had left behind.

Blados impacted heavily with the ground. _What the hell was that?_ he thought. He knew that their mysterious "ally" was powerful, but he hadn't expected anything like that. He had little time to consider the matter, because more hardened water smacked into his back, again flattening him. It was actually quite amazing that he hadn't broken any bones, let alone died; they had been at least three hundred feet up. He should have been a pulpy mess at the bottom of a crater. 'Arcanus' appeared in the corner of his field of vision. Blados pulled himself up and glared at the man. "Have we learned our lesson, Blados? Or should I continue teaching you?" Blados's continued glaring left little doubt that he wanted to dismember the man in front of him, but he remained silent. "Good, then. Let us go back to the airship." 'Arcanus' touched Blados's shoulder and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

**And so it went for several months. Mia and Alex got into many fights, culminating in their eventual separation. Mia became especially bitter, and came to develop a strong dislike for the man she had once called her husband, who had now become more of a stranger. 'Arcanus' and the Tuaparang continued to work on creating and sustaining the Psynergy Vortexes. Blados continued to irk the mysterious robed individual, and received a slash across the jawbone with an icy sword that appeared out of nowhere, forcing him to wear a cloth across the lower part of his face. The scar that Blados's sword had left on 'Arcanus' never really healed, for some reason, and it only got worse. Half of his face became severely distorted, parts turning purple, the color of the Vortexes.**

* * *

**Ayuthay**

'Arcanus' appeared in a flash of light inside the underwater temple. He immediately started choking as the lack of air made itself readily apparent. Waving a hand, he distorted the flow of water inside the temple, allowing air to reach him. He coughed hard, several times, to clear his windpipe, and surveyed the area around him. A beautifully crafted example of ancient architecture greeted his sky blue eyes. He fingered the bumpy scar on his face; it was twinging. He walked around, examining the building's insides. "Hmm…so this is the Temple of Barai. Perhaps I can – " Another flash of light illuminated the inside of the temple, making 'Arcanus' whirl around. In front of him, a huge, stony being with a single, large eye in the center of what might be considered a face floated in midair. "Alex – or should I say Arcanus? – what exactly are you up to? Ah, I see what happened…" the Wise One trailed off. "So it begins again." The voice of the ancient guardian sounded regretful. "What do you want, you stupid rock?" 'Arcanus's' voice had taken on an ugly tone, and his face distorted in hate. The purple swirls on the side of his face began spinning a bit, so great was his agitation. "I am here to stop you from going any further." 'Arcanus's' face twisted in malicious glee and he laughed, a mad, insane cackle that would easily send any rational creature running, far, fast, anything to get away from the source of such an insane sound. Even the Wise One blinked in mild consternation.

Unseen and unnoticed by either 'Arcanus' and the Wise One, a flash of light played across the walls of a far room, and a tall green-haired man stepped out of it, with a beautiful red-haired woman following close behind him. "Blados, are you sure we should be here? He's so powerful…wait, what is that?" She pointed at a large, floating rock-looking thing. "That's not important!" Blados hissed angrily. "What is important is that we get rid of him. He's far too powerful – " His words were cut off as 'Arcanus' roared, and began to glow.

"So you honestly think you can stop me, do you, you old tottering buffoon? I hardly think so. Not anymore. You've lost before you could start! I will not be stopped from my goals again!" 'Arcanus's' form suddenly flashed, and he began to visibly brighten. "You overestimate your power, young one." The Wise One's eye flashed, and he also began to glow. Then power – pure, unchained, unconstrained power - poured out of them both, cloaking them both in crackling auras. The two titanic forces clashed when they touched each other, the contact point becoming unbearably bright to look at. The auras surged with terrible powers. The Wise One's flickered with several different colors – blue, green, brown, light purple, red, and any shade of the elemental colors. 'Arcanus's' own was mainly a deep, rich, gorgeous blue, but the lower portions were violently chaotic. Blue and purple clashed, fighting for dominance. The purple flashed, an unhealthy purple that made those who saw it feel sick, and suddenly died down, fought back as the blue overwhelmed it. Shunted downwards, it suddenly disappeared almost entirely. With it went 'Arcanus.'

The Wise One let his power go, and descended from the elevated position he had gone into when he had been releasing his Psynergy. He floated over to the prone form of Alex, and used his power to gently flip him onto his back. His face no longer had huge swathes of purple covering it, and the scar was going down noticeably.

In the hallway, Blados and Chalis gasped. Without a word, they retreated back into the room that they had appeared in, where Blados again used the skill that mimicked 'Arcanus's' own to get them out of the temple. It was fortunate for them that they exited when they had, because their gasps did not go unheard. The Wise One spun on the spot, facing the direction that the gasps came from. The single eye narrowed, and a single voice rang out in the now empty chamber.

"Xela…What are you up to now?"

* * *

Alrighty! Rejoice! The next chapter is here! And I have changed my username twice since the beginning of the year!...Just want to point something out really quick – pop in The Lost Age, and go to the final scene of talking on the Mars Aerie, right before you fight the Doom Dragon. Look at the Wise One when he floats forward towards your party. First time I saw him like that, I though, Oh my God, he has an afro. Seriously, he does! He looks like he has an afro and a severe receding hairline! The elemental star well makes up the afro. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

Alrighty then. Here we go with another chapter of Dreams, Past and Present! (Actually, I'm not quite sure why I chose that title, it just kind of jumped out at me. But it made itself clear for me while I was writing it, so that's that. Just in case you were wondering, the view count on D.P.P is about 623. The count on Redemption is 2,110 and rising fast. In the first two chapters, it had 300; by the time I got to the fifth, it had passed 1,000. Hurry up and get Golden Sun 4 out, Camelot and Nintendo! Revive your fan base! It's starting to get lonely here; I miss jollygreendragon and anti-viper, and everyone else…Templeofdecay…Droory…Where are you?!

* * *

Alex woke up and immediately regretted it. His whole body was wracked with pain, and his head felt like a couple of monsters were fighting in it. He opened his eyes and immediately saw blue streaked with stars and black stripes. Golden light reached the corners of his eyes, and he winced as it stabbed into his head like a set of daggers. He groaned and the fuzzy world around him began to fizz into focus. He was rather surprised to find himself in an odd, unfamiliar sort of temple. He groaned and rolled over, but froze as a sibilant voice rang out in his head.

_So you're back in control…eh, Alex? Well, I shall soon remedy that… _Alex cried out and grabbed his head as pain lanced again through his back and head.

The Wise One heard Alex's screams and turned around from what he was looking at. His eye narrowed and his spherical body became enveloped in glowing rings of power. Immediately, the pain that was wracking Alex's body disappeared, and he let go of his head. The voice, however, did not go away, something which worried Alex.

_Hmph…I shall be back. _Then the voice ceased, leaving Alex to his own thoughts. The Wise One spoke then. "Alex. Do you know what has happened to you?" Alex looked up at the ancient guardian, confused. "No, I do not. How did I come here?" The Wise One closed his eye, making an approximation of a sigh. "Xela is back, Alex, and he has taken over again. There is nothing I can do – I interfered enough on Mt. Aleph, and that had repercussions itself. I am sorry, but…" The Wise One trailed off. Alex frowned as memories started to filter back in. He gasped as he remembered what had happened between himself and Mia.

"Mia…" he whispered. Without another word, he flashed out of existence. The Wise One squinted as the flash of light blinded him, then blinked. His eye narrowed as he considered Alex's reaction to his memories coming back. "Perhaps I may not need to interfere at all," he murmured. His own form became enveloped in light, and he disappeared.

* * *

**Imil**

Alex rematerialized above the snowlocked village, searching for his and Mia's house. Locating it, he descended through the air to land lightly on the porch. He hesitated before knocking, but was saved the trouble by Mia opening the door before he could raise his hand to do so. "Oh. It's you. What do you want now, Alex?" Mia's voice was curt, her tone sharp as splintered ice. Alex's breath caught in his throat as he gazed upon the face of the woman he had fallen in love with, but was unable to meet her eyes. He winced as somewhere in the back of his head, a pinprick of pain made its appearance. She caught the flash on his face and, despite herself, felt a hint of worry for the man in front of her.

He finally managed to look her straight in the eye, and her breath caught this time as she saw his eyes. They were the eyes of the man she fell in love with, no longer tainted by purple and dull, but now alive with dancing sparks. Her voice quivered as she said, "A-Alex? Is it you, or is it…" She trailed off, wondering what had changed in him. "Yes, Mia..It's me…" His words were cut off as she threw her arms around him, smothering his mouth in a kiss. Surprised, but happy, he returned her embrace and kiss, feeling the pain in his head retreat to an even smaller point.

Eventually, they released each other, both giddy with happiness. Her eyes had a look of wonderment in them, and she smiled at him, so warmly that Alex could practically feel the warmth radiating off of her face. The pain in his head, though, suddenly returned with a vengeance, making him double over in agony, clutching his head again. Mia cried out, and immediately began flinging out vast quantities of healing Psynergy at her husband. He groaned and turned so that his face was visible again, and she gasped as she saw that a huge, ugly, ropy scar, painted with deep purple dots that Mia assumed were petechiae had appeared on his face. The thing that got her the most, though, were his eyes. No longer clear and rich like they had been seconds before, they were turning a deep and sickening purple, the color of the Psynergy Vortexes. In a flash, she understood what was happening, and what had been going on. "Fight him, Alex! Don't let him take back control!" As if hearing her words, Alex's body jerked and twitched like a puppet on strings. He stood up, slowly, as one would from a deep sleep. She started as she heard an ugly, raspy voice emanate from Alex's mouth. "Heh heh heh…Who said he would let me have control? He has no say in the matter, though he does fight quite hard against me in here." At this, Alex's hand went up to tap his head, though the controller of the hand was not Alex himself. "Unfortunately, I cannot simply _kill_ him up there, since that would result in the immediate death of this body. But as for you…I have no qualms about taking care of you." Mia's look of confusion, then shock made the not-Alex laugh. "Heh heh heh…Maybe with you gone, he won't fight so hard. So long, Mia. So nice not knowing you." And with that, the hand rose from his side, pointing at her, molten blue energies pulsing around it. Then the body jerked again, as if struck by lightning. A raw cry of anger ripped from the throat. "NOOO! I WON"T LET YOU DO IT AGAIN!" Alex's voice roared. The other hand came up, shuddering, and pointed at the one in Mia's direction. After a painfully long wait, energies also began pulsing around it, somewhat tainted with purple, oddly enough. Then the bolt of liquid plasma doubled in size, then tripled, seemingly sucking the power from the hand controlled by Xela. With a flash, that hand's power went out.

"You…shall…not…best…me…brat…" came the raspy voice again. "I can't…let you…hurt her…ANYMORE!" growled Alex's voice. The hand swung up, pointing at Alex's own face. Again, the raspy voice came. "You wouldn't dare…you'd die." The voice sounded smug, assured of victory. "I know that…But you'll go with me!" The face twisted into one of shock, and the other hand came up as if to stop the pulsating swirl of power in Alex's. But it stopped midway, juddering. "So you learned something after all," came the voice, so softly not even Alex himself could hear it. The mass of energy released, and the face became one of such longing and love a second before the mass hit. "Goodbye, Mia," came Alex's voice again. "Live for me…Love for me," he said, even fainter. "Alex, no!" Mia cried, lunging at him, trying to stop the bolt before it hit him.

Too late.

A flash of light – a sound so loud it seemed to encompass one's very being – and then nothing.

* * *

Some time later, Mia was woken by someone tugging on her robes. "Miss Mia?" she heard faintly. She groaned, the noise oddly muted to herself, and tried to push herself up. Her inner ear reported that he was upside down, which was not what her eyes were telling her, nor her blood. Groaning again, she realized her eardrums must have ruptured. She waved her hands, wrapping them in healing Psynergy, and pressed them to the sides of her head. Much to her relief, the strain on her balance disappeared, and her hearing returned to normal. She winced as she stood up, the bones in her back popping as she did so. _Now why was I on the ground, and why were my eardrums...oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! _"No!" she shouted, falling to her knees.

Justin and Megan looked at each other in surprise. They had only been asking her what had happened to her and her house – or rather, what remained of it. It was a washed-away husk of what it had been, and the ground for several hundred yards round was blasted to the permafrost. They looked at their former mentor, collapsed on the ground and crying, and became even further concerned, especially when she began babbling, "He's gone…He's gone..He's gone…"

"M-Miss Mia? What's wrong? Who's gone?" Justin asked. "Alex…He's dead," came the sobbing reply, and then Mia folded over, rocking back and forth, crying even harder.

* * *

**Tuaparang Airship, Two Days Later**

"And why haven't you fixed the damn machine yet, you incompetent fool? It had better be fixed soon, or I'll use YOU for my sword practice, you hear me?!" Blados yelled at the shivering scientist. "S-s-s-sir, th-these th-th-th-th-things t-t-ta-ta-take time! P-p-p-please!" Blados growled, and that was all the warning that the scientist got before Blados unsheathed his sword and swung at him. The somewhat portly scientist barely managed to avoid being cut by the blade, and the front of his coat hung open, slit by the massive sword. The look in Blados's eyes told him that he was hanging on by a thread, and that the scientist hadn't dodged it by his own skill, but that it was instead by the skill of Blados. Had Blados wanted him dead, he would have been dead.

It was about that time that the scientist fainted.

Blados snorted, the sound muffled by his facial cloth, and he turned around sharply on his heels and walked out of the room (followed closely by Chalis), punching one of the guards stationed outside the door that was falling asleep at his post. "Go pick that mess up in there," he snarled, and jerked a rigid thumb over his shoulder. The soldier saluted smartly and rushed to follow the order. Chalis frowned at the man's laziness. "He should not have been falling asleep…Blados, will you be a dear and…take care of him?" Blados rolled his eyes and snorted again. "Afraid of getting your pretty little claws dirty? Ugh, fine." Chalis beamed at him and sidled off down the hallway. Blados rolled his eyes again and turned back into the room, unsheathing his sword as he did so.

A few hours later, Blados and Chalis stood in the hangar, waiting for their mysterious "ally," 'Arcanus.' Blados ran a cleaning cloth over the flat of his blade, removing some traces of blood, then brought a whetstone out and began scraping it along the length of the blade. Continuing this for nearly thirty minutes, he finally began to get on Chalis's nerves and she snapped at him, "Quit that infernal noise! Your sword was sharp a long time ago!" Blados raised an eyebrow, and, had his mouth been visible, Chalis would have been treated to a toothy grin, for, in fact, he had been doing it to annoy her.

As the minutes began to turn into hours, Blados and Chalis both became irritable. Though 'Arcanus' had been late on several occasions, he had never been this late before. However, just as the two were about to storm angrily out of the hangar, a flash of light caught their eyes, just in the corner. They both wheeled around, Chalis fluidly fitting on her clawed gloves and Blados smoothly drawing his monstrous sword. They were both shocked to see the wrecked and shambled form of their erstwhile ally, 'Arcanus.' Blados walked over, cautiously, and poked him with the blunt tip of the blade. When that elicited no response, he pushed 'Arcanus's' prone form harder, so that he rolled over and his face was exposed. Both gasped at the damage that had been wrought on the once-pristine face. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he gasped heavily, in the manner of one coming up from underwater.

* * *

Heheheh, cliffie or what?! I don't know when I'll next be able to update, but I hope it'll be soon. Petechiae are small blood spots on the skin that occur when minute blood vessels pop under the skin. Usually observed in victims of strangling.

…On a more serious note…Guys, I'm actually in the hospital right now. They're running some tests, so…They think I might be having a relapse, because I am having some really bad symptoms like I did before. I'm not sure how bad it'll be, but I should be fine. In any case… See ya next time! Oh, and btw, Guest – Could you make an account? I'd like to talk to you via PM!


	14. Chapter 14

Yeah…So I have had a relapse. Though that will probably give me more time to write, I'll probably feel too sick a good deal of the time to do so. But I'll try to finish this before I reach the "Oh-my-God-I-want-to-puke-my-guts-out" stage again. If I seem nonchalant about it, it's because I've been through it before; it's not a severe cancer like A.M.L, it's A.L.L. So I know what to expect. As far as the story goes, it's not really going to be that much longer; maybe one or two more chapters after this one. I don't mean to cut it short, but that's really all I can push out of it. Those last two chapters will be longer, though. But if anyone wants to use the ideas I put forth in here to write their own fics, feel free! I have done my best to make the events in this fic as feasibly believable in the timeline of the Golden Sun games as possible, so it could, in theory, become accepted fanon. I'm not so egotistical as to expect it to be treated as such, but it would be nice. I mean, look at Ryu no Ohi in the DBZ community – she is the leading authority on Frieza and his race, so…

* * *

Alex woke up and yet again regretted it. The right side of his face felt like it was on fire, and his limbs felt like they had been crushed. He groaned as his surroundings came into focus. Judging from the intense pain that he felt bolting through his body, he was still alive, but how he was alive, he did not know.

The reason for him being alive became clear a few seconds later, as he saw, dimly, the faces of both Blados and Chalis, bending over him in curiosity. "Hmph. You're awake, good. Looks like you got your ass handed to you, didn't you, 'Arcanus'? About time someone put you in your place." Judging from the voice, that was Blados. Alex groaned again and summoned some healing Psynergy into his palm, then raised his hand and ran it across his face. His vision cleared, and he could plainly make out the smiling face of Chalis and the obviously scowling Blados. "It's so nice to see you awake, 'Arcanus.' I was beginning to worry that you might not wake up, and what would I do without you?" She pouted, her face looking so funny that Blados snorted (something which he was an expert at) in amusement. He received a fiery glare in return, which only served to make him snort again. Chalis rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Alex.

Who was currently panicking a bit. He wasn't a fan of Blados and Chalis now, not by any means. But right now, if he acted in any way out of character in the way that they knew him, they would smell a rat and could quite possibly kill him. So he decided to play it safe for now and sifted through his memories. While doing so, he realized something: Xela was gone. That voice in his head that had tormented him for so long was gone. The thought gave him such relief that he involuntarily smiled. Chalis misinterpreted this smile as being meant for her and batted her eyelids mock-coyly. "Oh, don't tell me the great and powerful 'Arcanus' has fallen for little old me, has he?" Alex gagged visibly at the thought. Blados couldn't take it anymore and started braying with laughter.

Thankfully, Alex remembered that he, as 'Arcanus', was exceedingly short with Blados, so he morphed his smile into a frown and raised his other hand. The blast of water lifted Blados bodily off his feet and made him crash into the wall.

Alex smiled again, this time on purpose. That actually made him feel better about his situation. Chalis herself smirked. Blados groaned underneath the stack of crates that had collapsed on top of him and pushed them off of himself, then stood up, sodden to the bone. His usually stiff, dirty-green hair had flopped down over his eyes, and he growled as he pushed it out of them. But his face looked a bit sheepish as he muttered, "Well I guess I asked for that…" He trailed off and walked over to the bed that Alex was laying on.

As he did so, Alex sat up, waving a hand again to dispel the vertigo that assaulted him on the way up. Wincing, he realized that his right ankle was sprained. Grabbing it, he unleashed his power again, and sighed in relief. Doing a cursory check over the rest of his body, he discovered a horrendous scar on the right side of his face that did not respond to his Psynergy. He frowned again and resolved to try again at a later time.

Blados finally made his way back to the bed and stood while Alex regained his faculties. When he did, he grunted. "So what happened?" Blados assumed that the fight between him and whatever had been in the temple had not gone well for 'Arcanus,' though he did not want to reveal the fact that he had been there, nor that he and Chalis both now knew how to Warp. Though he still harbored an intense dislike for their powerful "ally," he was not suicidal, and he knew that if 'Arcanus' knew that they had followed him to that temple, he would not hesitate to end them and the whole Tuaparang force. Not that the Tuaparang really mattered anymore to the pair; they couldn't have cared less about the good of the nation. It could go to hell as far as they were concerned. The whole thing had gone to pot anyway, what with the Empyror becoming so obsessed with military superiority all of a sudden at the total expense of the nation and the infrastructure. However, Blados and Chalis planned to take power with the help of a few Tuaparang soldiers that they had managed to join their side, something which 'Arcanus' knew nothing about. Nor did he know about any of their ambitions to take over the

"What happened is none of your business, Blados, and you know good well what happened. You saw it with your own two eyes." Here Alex turned to Chalis, "And so did you." He tried to fix them with a hard glare, and succeeded in even making Blados start to feel a bit fearful. Alex shifted his expression into one of angered amusement. "What, did you think that I couldn't sense you? Fools." Chalis was now visibly shaking, afraid of 'Arcanus's' temper, and looked ready to bolt. A month prior, 'Arcanus' had disintegrated a soldier for simply interrupting a meeting between the three. Blados grunted. "We were simply…curious about your habits. You have given us very little to go on, and we don't know what to think. We, on the other hand, have given you every access to our information. It is only natural that we would want to know more about one so powerful that we are so closely affiliated with."

Alex was starting to feel more comfortable in his role as 'Arcanus,' and realized how much room he had in his interactions with the two. He sighed. "I suppose you are correct. However, in the future, express more concern for your safety in the future." Blados and Chalis looked at him, confused. He grinned, an odd light coming into his eyes. "No, you won't have to worry about the danger of whatever situation I'm in. I'll just kill you myself." Channeling 'Arcanus' was easier than Alex had thought it would be. "Since you don't seem to know what happened – yes, I was beaten by that being you saw – he is called the Wise One. His power exceeds even mine, and by a wide margin. So there is your answer. Now leave. I have much to ponder." Visibly shaken by the thought of one more powerful than their "ally," the two left.

But they were not through with intruding upon his privacy. As soon as they left and got out of earshot, they turned to each other. "There is something different about him," Blados muttered. "His face…he looks like he's been burned, and not by anything natural either. And he seems so much harder. More volatile. We are going to have to take care of him at some point." Chalis nodded. "Perhaps those machines we have heard of might help. I doubt he knows of our true powers…that we are affiliated with the Umbra clan. The darkness will strengthen us, while it shall weaken all those in it." Blados smiled beneath the cloth on his face. "And then we can take care of the Empyror."

"And after that?"

"…Perhaps…the world?" Blados chuckled. "But we will need to take care of that Wise One as well."

Behind them, once they rounded the corner, Alex unshielded himself, becoming visible once again.

* * *

**Imil**

Mia was dressed in mourning robes, as befitted a widow. She felt like she had swallowed a bucket of lead as she watched the casket that was supposed to represent Alex's body pass by. All that they had been able to find were a few burnt pieces of flesh, glowing with a deep blue power. Mia had broken down when she saw those pieces. Now those pieces were in the casket, along with one of his robes.

The pallbearers stopped one at a time by Mia's side, each hugging her as was the custom in Imil. She accepted their comforts numbly, feeling totally empty inside. Without him, she didn't know what to do To have him come back, only to be ripped away so suddenly…she couldn't imagine life without him now. It was just so unfair. It wasn't right.

The ceremony lasted only one and a half more hours, to Mia's relief. Once it had ended, she went home and collapsed on the bed, crying. A sudden flash of light made her sit up. When her sight returned, she saw the floating form of the Wise One, blinking at her. She sniffled. "Mia… Do not despair. All may not be lost." She sat up straighter. "Wh-What do you mean? I-Is Alex still alive?" The Wise One blinked again, long and slow. "I cannot tell you that. However…you must not tell anyone else what happened with him. Do not tell your children anything of what happened to Alex…It is vital…" He blinked again, then continued. "You will see him again, Mia. Whether in this world or in the next, I cannot say, but you shall be reunited." With that, his form glowed brightly, and Mia looked away as he disappeared to avoid being blinded.

She considered his words. Doubtless, he had a good reason for being so secretive. However, the biggest sticker for her in what he said was the part about not telling anyone about what had happened with Alex…what could she do about that? Then again, everyone in the village knew that there had been a falling out between her and Alex, so perhaps that's what the Wise One meant.

She gulped as she realized that the Wise One had also said that she must not tell her children. She couldn't imagine not telling her children that their father was not an evil person. She frowned and ran a hand over her stomach. She wasn't pregnant, so…That must have meant that the Wise One knew that she would be remarried… She thought back to the last words that she heard Alex speak. "_Live for me…Love for me._"

A small smile crossed her face. She would honor his wishes as best she could, but she would always love him.

* * *

Ok, then…So now there will be a huge skip forward to the events of Dark Dawn. Two chapters should be all it will need, then it will be wrapped up. And as far as Amiti – remember, Alex is acting like 'Arcanus' now. He has to, so… This will have some shockers that probably none of you will see coming. Hope you all like it! And, as I always say, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, REVIEW! PLEASE!


	15. Chapter 15

Alrighty! Now we're moving on to the main Dark Dawn segment! Hopefully you guys like it! I've been working towards this for quite some time, and now you'll see how I've explained Alex's behavior, and Amiti's parentage and how Rief and Nowell came to be. NO LEMONS, though, sorry to those of you who like that sort of thing. Big timeskip!

* * *

**Goma Plateau, Fifteen Years Later….**

Wind whistled through the carved rocks. Upon reaching an oddly shaped funnel-like opening, it pushed its way through and was almost totally compressed into a single point. The resulting stream of air was rather stronger than the comparatively gentle breeze that flowed throughout the rest of the jagged landscape. The wind that was collected by the funnel blew across a blue robed man, tall in stature and severe in posture, causing his long robe to flutter backwards, lending him an almost unearthly visage. A half-mask covered the right portion of his face and part of his forehead, colored mixed shades of grey and sea-blue. Several unruly strands of hair poked their way through on the sides, thanks to the wind.

To his right, a tall, blue-skinned, dirty-green haired man holding a massive sword to his chest stared off into the distance, his expression unable to be determined due to a cloth drawn across the lower half of his face. To the left was an equally tall, beautiful woman with molten-red hair, accented by what appeared to be black horns. Her hands were clad in elbow-length gloves that had claws fitted onto their ends. The dying sunlight caught the gem-like edges of the razor claws, making them glint like rubies.

Behind them, a small corps of men clad in black plate mail and black leather combination armor bustled around an odd machine, almost spiderlike, with a large purple gem fitted into the center. As the last rays of the sun filtered their lazy way beneath the edge of the world, the men completed their work, and assumed erect, respectful positions, smartly at attention. A few seconds passed, then the trio of odd individuals turned around. They nodded at the men, who grabbed the machine and began to descend the rocky hill they were on, descending into the now-empty Psynergy Stone mine, the miners having already left for the day. Three soldiers lingered behind, pulling out small cylinders with buttons on them. They pressed them, and threw them as hard as they could into the forest below, then walked off to join their comrades. After a few minutes, so did the motley group of individuals.

About two minutes later, a loud _thum-thum-thum_ reverberated through the air, and the ground grew even darker as an enormous shadow fell across it. In the sky, a huge airship bulled through the sky. Three large cylinders dropped from it, landing at different places in the forest below. Then the airship ascended through the clouds, disappearing from sight in the darkening sky.

As he strode in front of his companions, Alex began to think about how he got here. The Empyror was now an old, tottering man, wise beyond most people's comprehension, but was unable to rule like he had in the past. This had caused a few whispers of rebellion among factions in the militaristic nation. So he had asked Alex, whom he believed to be 'Arcanus', to keep an eye on things. Truth be told, Alex knew what had happened to the once-vibrant but isolated nation of Tuaparang. It was the same thing that had happened to him. Or, rather, the same person.

Xela.

The very thought of the name filled Alex with apprehension, and bile filled his mouth. It had taken him some time to come to this conclusion, but from what he remembered in Xela's memories, he had launched a bolt of his evil influence inside the Tuaparang airship, all those years ago. He had fed it, and made it influence everything that the Tuaparang did. Soon after the airship had landed back at Tuaparang, Xela's corrupting influence had spread throughout the nation, like a foul poison, turning the once-beautiful domain into a decaying, twisted and violent negative of itself.

The influence had soon seeded itself into the Empyror, and he, already well aged, became paranoid, and surrounded himself with the military. Then it worsened, and the doddering old fool had turned the entire city-state into a militaristic "iron curtain" type hell. The common people got nothing. When 'Arcanus' came along, the bit of Xela inside the Empyror must have recognized the larger portion inside 'Arcanus' and made the connection. The Empyror trusted 'Arcanus' implicitly, with everything and everyone. It was a privilege he conferred upon no one else, not even his own son, Blados.

This apparent disowning by his father left Blados bitter and spiteful, making him even more susceptible to Xela's influence. However, he, along with his partner Chalis, had been the last to succumb to the insane Adept's will. Something about their powers or their wills made it harder for Xela to gain control. But once he did, they were his most powerful and loyal agents, if mouthy and, in Blados's case, near homicidal when it came to 'Arcanus'. Thus, anything bad that happened to 'Arcanus' made Blados happy, or at least made him chuckle darkly.

Such as now, when, lost in his thoughts, Alex simultaneously got whipped in the face by a branch and tripped over a root, making him fall over in the dirt. His mask flew off, landing somewhere in the underbrush.

Blados laughed heartily at the blue-haired man's misfortune, something that earned him a heated blast of water precisely in the eye sockets. He yelled in pain and grabbed his damaged visual organs, dropping his (unsheathed) sword in the process. It stabbed through his left boot, chopping off his big toe. Howling like a banshee, he grabbed his foot with his other hand and began hopping to try to keep his balance, something that did not go well without him being able to see. He hop-hop-hopped off the path and into a thicket of trees, and, after a few seconds apparently crashed into a tree, judging by the cursing following a loud _bonk_ sound. It was Alex's turn to smile, and he did so broadly as he picked himself up from the dirt and retrieved his mask. He tutted as he found out that the mask had cracked, leaving the lower part of his cheek exposed. He sighed; it didn't really matter, that part of his face wasn't that badly burnt.

Blados finally came back into view, eyes red and limping badly. His face was also covered in what appeared to be bee stings. The buzzing sound following him indicated as much, and he groaned and turned to make a dash for it. Alex warped in front of him though, and motioned for him to get behind him. Blados did so, and Alex turned and summoned a small portion of his power, releasing it in the form of a massive, superheated geyser of water so hot that it set the forest on fire even as it drenched it.

The bees didn't trouble Blados anymore, oddly enough.

* * *

**Later, in the Psynergy Stone mine…**

"Two feet to the left, now." Blados grunted orders to the armored men trying to put the machine into the mine. His eyes weren't red anymore, nor was his foot bleeding, thanks to 'Arcanus', but seeing as it was his fault in the first place that Blados was now missing a toe, the swordsman didn't feel inclined to feel grateful. He pulled his sword out and again tried to find a position that allowed him to use it comfortably, but failed miserably. Chalis jumped over to him and tapped his shoulder. "May I suggest something, Blados dear?" She batted her eyes in false flirtation. Blados rolled his eyes quite obviously and handed his sword over to her, but she pushed it back. "Grab it with one hand, now. Put this foot out…Alright, and put the blade on your arm just like that…around the back of your head, now, dear, or you'll end up cutting your own throat. Alright…now how is that?" She stepped back, and Blados shifted a bit. Experimentally, he swung it out, and in the act of doing so, accidentally clipped one of the soldiers on the back. Startled, the man tumbled forwards into the dark crevasse, taking another soldier that was handling the machine with him. Both were heard screaming until a wet _splat_ sounded from below, ending the shrieks. The third man was left to try and hold the machine up by himself, something that was simply not possible, and, in a last act of desperation, he threw a grappling hook out at the falling machine and one out at the walls of the mine, each one coming from the opposite arm.

The result was not pretty, and Alex grimaced as he wiped blood off of his mask. Blados simply grunted, and tossed his sword up in the air, shifting his back as he did so in such a way that the blade would fall into the scabbard neatly. With a _schnick_ sound, it slotted into it neatly. "Thank you, Chalis," he grunted, surprising both Alex and Chalis. "'Arcanus', you gonna just sit there gawping like a dying carp or are you going to try and get that machine?" A dull _thud_ punctuated Blados's statement, and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the crevasse where the device had fallen in. "It matters not, it should still be able to function just as well down there, if not better, since that area has even more Psynergy Stones that haven't been found and mined yet. We should actually get going, before it gets dark. Those spores will grow very fast, and will take root within the hour, and I doubt that you want to get stuck in this place after that. Go back to the ship, I have some business I must attend to. And don't follow me like you did last time, or so help me I will wipe you out of existence." Chalis purred, her eyes batting demurely. "Of course not, 'Arcanus'. We wouldn't want to…betray your trust, now would we?" Blados snorted yet again (his favorite way of expressing just about anything) and rolled his eyes again. "For such a supposedly ruthless warrior, Chalis, you sure act like a bimbo." Chalis smiled sweetly at Blados, sidling up to him and pulling off her gloves one finger at a time. "Only around you, Blados," she purred, and then sucker punched him between his eyes, making him fly backwards into the wall of the mine. Alex smiled and warped away. He had to see someone.

**Imil**

* * *

"_Goodbye, Mia…Live for me…Love for me." _

"_Alex, no!" _

FLASH.

Mia woke up sweating, having just had the same nightmare that she had been having for years now. But something different had woken her this time. Light had streamed into her half-open eyes, waking her up. Somewhere, there had been light. She got out of bed, slowly, looking around every corner. The flash had been just like his warp…Maybe it _was_ him! Her heart leapt at the thought.

But a thorough search of her home revealed nothing, and she crawled, sadly, back into her empty bed. Her new husband had left her two years ago. It had been an amicable split; and Mia knew his reasons, and didn't blame him. They were still friends, though, not the least reason being the second the divorce papers had been signed, he had looked her squarely in the eyes and said, "He's still there, Mia. I know he's still alive."

Her children loved their biological father, and Mia loved that about him – he didn't just drop out of their lives once they had divorced. Most fathers usually quit after learning that their wife was going to have twins – too much of a strain on the man to bring home the money needed to support such a large family. But he had hung in there.

The hardest part for Mia, though, had been having to tell her children that Alex was a traitor. An evil person who could not have been trusted. That he had died on Mt. Aleph. Naturally, being the curious little buggers that they were, they had pestered the old sage Kraden for details. Thankfully, Kraden had had the presence of mind to go along with what Mia had said. But the two young children had been so fascinated by this ancient man and his knowledge that they wanted to go cavorting around the world in that ship with him and Piers.

Mia had put a damper on that, though, and so had Piers, when the two stowed away on the night that the Lemurian was to leave. He had been so nice about it too; no yelling or anything. He had simply frozen them in blocks of ice up to their necks and put them on Mia's doorstep and knocked, having put the sign "We stowed away on Mr. Piers's ship" on the door. Being Mercury Adepts, the cold from the ice didn't bother them, but the hiding that Mia had given them did.

Mia smiled as she fell asleep, thinking of how Alex would love to see them.

Outside of her window, Alex peered inside. She was just as beautiful as ever. How he missed her…He felt guilty about having slept with that woman from Ayuthay, Vertiri, even though he knew Mia would understand the circumstances. How else was he to get her to let him start up the Alchemy Well? Even though it was more than ten years since that had happened, he still felt guilty. This visit left him feeling sad and empty, just like all the other times. But he could still hope. Maybe once he had finished with Blados and Chalis, he could return and be there for her again. Would she even recognize him?

A sound at her window roused Mia from her partly-asleep state, and she opened her eyes just long enough to catch a glimpse of blue hair leaving the view of the window, then a blue fluttering robe. Her heart again in her throat, she leapt out of bed again and tiptoed out the door, again catching a glimpse of a blue robe fluttering around a corner. Excited, she began to run around the corner, and heard a door open and shut. A small flash of light caught the edges of her vision, and she turned the corner –

Only to careen headlong into Jones, the town drunk. He held a grayish mask in his hands, and was mumbling to himself. "Jones – Jones! Look at me! Did you see anyone come down this alley?" Mia asked him, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Oh, izz oo Mizz Mia…yerr alwayzz so pritty…" he slurred, the stench of alcohol on his breath making Mia's stomach turn. "Jones! Focus! Did someone come down this alley?" He squinted, then nodded. "Yaa, some guy ran doen heer pritty fast. Hee dropped diss thingy… Strange feellah, too..All in blue, nd iz face wus all burnt up…" He trailed off as he swayed from side to side, then collapsed against Mia, out cold from being so drunk. Mia stood in stunned silence.

"A-Alex?"

* * *

So now what do you think? And thank you Anonny for your continued support! Bet you didn't see the bit about Blados coming, now did you? Heh heh heh…. And, in my mind, the nation of Tuaparang is somewhere off the map of Weyard that you get in GSTLA, to the right. Where exactly? Go to YouTube, type in "Golden Sun Map Collision Detection Glitch" and pop in The Lost Age and do what it shows you to do. I've done it, it works, and it's pretty damn cool. You can even get to Mercury Lighthouse if you're careful, and you can see a portion of the Northern Reaches that, surprisingly enough, corresponds to my story. Just don't save, or else! And hold down the B button while it's glitching and press the D-Pad down and to the right while it's going across the map, or you won't get anywhere. And stock up on Psy Crystals before you do this, or get RaileyXerilyas's code and input it (on the Golden Sun Wiki). And portions of the map pieces that you see will teleport you to the corresponding part on the regular overworld map! Like, there's an area that looks like the docks of Atteka (?) but without the inlet town sprite. And there's even a Crossbone Isle portion ATTACHED TO THE MAIN MAP. THAT WORKS. I think. Judging fom the sparkles in the water around it and the fact that there isn't any in the patch of sea around it… Anyway, CHECK IT OUT! It is sooo cool. If it doesn't work the first time, try it again and again, till you do get it! It is soo worth it, trust me. Welp, cya next time!


	16. Chapter 16

A few things: One – where did we get the idea that Garet and Tyrell ate everything in sight, Two- Where did we get the idea that they were total idiots, and Three – Where did we get the idea that they had absolutely no regard for their safety and the safety of others, other than Tyrell's joyride on the Soarwing? Aside from that and a single comment at the setoff of Golden Sun's trek, ("Don't listen to him, Isaac! He'll eat anything that's not tied down!") there is little other evidence that they are as we imagine them to be. Maybe jollygreendragon's Garet might have influenced us a bit ("AHAHAHAAHH! DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!"). What do you think? Let me know!

* * *

**Somewhere in the Northern Reaches, one year before the start of Dark Dawn…**

His dreams that night were haunted, filled with visions of what Xela had done in the past. Flashes of he and Alexander flitted through his view, obscuring his mind. Then he saw Mia, hunched over, crying, alone, with no one there to protect her from the encroaching darkness. He tried to reach out to her, but found he could not move. He made a futile attempt to call out to her, to tell her that he was ok, that he would be there again, but no sound came from his mouth. Then he heard a deep chuckle, an evil one. Mia disappeared into the distance, and a dark, split face appeared in front of him. "You shall never be rid of me, not fully. I may not control you anymore, but I can most definitely make your life a living hell!" With those words, the apparition leapt at him, arms outstretched to close around his throat.

Alex woke with Xela's gnarled hands an inch from his throat. With a garbled, strangled ululation, he scrabbled backwards, off of his makeshift bed. The twisted figure of Xela melted into the shadows, a specter woven from dreamstuff and Alex's own memories. He gasped, his chest heaving as his heart endeavored to try to get out of his chest, unsuccessfully. A few more minutes passed with him sitting with his back against the stony wall, water _drip-drip-dripp_ing from the ceiling onto the floor, then he heaved a sigh and crawled back onto his cot.

Ever since he had taken up residence in the small cave, hoping to find some more answers on what happened whenever Xela had left his body. His erstwhile allies, Blados and Chalis, had had the sense not to follow him, not after the (spectacularly embarrassing for Blados) incident of two years ago, where Blados and Chalis had followed him to Mercury Lighthouse. Alex had spotted them, and Blados found himself on the receiving end of a geyser of water that was so strong it ripped off almost all of his clothes. He had landed in the middle of Imil, half naked and sopping wet, his blue skin making a remarkable attempt to catch up with his torn up underwear in shade (they were red). Chalis had fallen over laughing so hard that she broke two ribs from her laughter. Alex had decided to leave it at that for her, and warped away.

Now, he had peace.

At least, to some extent. While it was true that he no longer had to deal with Blados's scheming against his father and Chalis's sad attempts at flirtation, he had had to deal with the nightmares of Xela here in the cave where it had all started. And Mia's face had haunted his dreams as well, and he couldn't help but feel like he needed to be there for her. But he couldn't risk it; if that pair knew anything about him, they could use it against him.

And he didn't want to lose her.

Though he tried to relax as much as he could, sleep eluded Alex. After about two hours of just staring at the stalactites on the ceiling, he caught the first few weak rays of sunlight leaking into the main portion of the cave. Sighing again, he rolled off the cot and began to pack up his cot. He had to return to Tuaparang now; his hiatus in the wilderness had gone on long enough. And there was still the mystery of those machines that he had heard that pair talking about all those years ago…

* * *

**Present day; the start of Dark Dawn**

"So they're calling it the Tanglewood now, eh? Hmph. So unimaginative," Blados grunted, gazing out over the dark, twisted expanse of forest. Chalis sauntered over to his side, laying a gloved hand on his shoulder. "And, pray tell, what would you call it, Blados dear?" Blados harrumphed and turned away from her, surveying the scene in front of them. Alex suddenly appeared in the plateau that they were on in a flash of light. He too looked at the spectacle above them. "It appears that Tyrell has inherited his father's hotheadedness and total disregard for his own safety. It appears that he has taken the Soarwing for a joyride. Hmm…he appears to be losing height; it looks like he is going to try to make it to the edge of the forest. Apparently to that mine…It's a good thing, I suppose, then, that the machine fell into that crevasse, because it would be spotted by the Warriors immediately." Blados turned to him. "You know the Warriors? 'Arcanus', what else are you not telling us? After last week's little incident, I am not inclined to be very patient with you and your secrets." He pulled his sword from its sheath, waving it in Alex's face. "I still can't get the damn rust off of the blade!" Alex extended a finger and gently pushed the blade away from his nose. "It is not my responsibility to take care of your little toys, Blados. Now put your oversized skinning knife away and out of my face, or I will put it over the edge of Gaia Falls." Blados glowered at Alex, then tossed the sword into its sheath.

Chalis examined the scene in the sky once more. "Are you certain that we do not need to interfere with the situation? It appears that he is, indeed going to land at the mine." Alex waved her off. "The two of you are no match in any way for Isaac and Garet. And together they may even pose a threat to me. You, though, they'll make mincemeat of in about as long as it would take me to tie my shoes. No, we retreat for now. But let's keep an eye on them. You said that the Dynamo was in Morgal, correct? Then, if I'm correct, Tyrell being as clumsy as he is, will end up breaking the Soarwing. From what I know of that device, they will need to get another roc feather to fix it. Then you can start up those machines, since they require usage of elemental powers that you do not have." Blados frowned, the only indication of him doing so being a slight shift of the cloth on his face and his eyebrows wrinkling. "And how will they help us? Two Warriors are hardly likely to just dance along and do what we want them to, especially not if they have that old geezer with them. He knows a lot…" Blados trailed off, having met the man himself, once, many years ago as a child.

Alex merely smiled, though he felt like doing anything but. Inwardly his stomach twisted at the thought of further helping these two. But in order to get rid of Xela permanently, he had to work with them; without his "help," Xela would have entered the world long ago. The machines that the Tuaparang had made simply weakened the fabric of the world, making it easier for Xela to make the Vortexes. He rubbed his temples; the Mourning Moons had been bad enough. Now it was approaching that same time again, and Alex didn't know if he could shut it down as well, not with one of the Tuaparang's machines powering it.

Blados finally decided that he had been there long enough, and began to walk away. Chalis stopped him, though, laying one red-gloved hand on his shoulder. "Let's stay around and see what happens. We need to know if they are going to go themselves or not." She pointed into the distance. "Let's wait by the cabin, out of sight." Blados grunted and flashed out of sight, reappearing on the far side of the cabin, out of view of the Adepts arrayed around it. Chalis followed suit, Alex holding her hand so that he wouldn't be left behind. Alex had noticed that, as time went on and they used their version of the Warp more and more, he became less and less able to sense it. Eventually, he couldn't sense them at all. His Warp, on the other hand, used a fair bit of power when rematerializing – enough to be noticed. He shook his head as he materialized, then waited for the group to return to the cabin.

* * *

**Konpa Cave**

"Hmph. So they managed to defeat my men. I suppose it's time that we reveal ourselves, since they've already seen the machine. And of course, they'll want to see their little Mercury Adept." Blados turned and pulled a lever on the platform, then they descended into the view of the people in the cave. Suddenly, the machine above them gave a sharp grinding whine, and the platform stopped moving. A soldier above noticed this and frantically tried to fix the machine.

'Arcanus' was the first to speak, and Blados somewhat droned him out. But as the conversation went on, he noticed several things that intrigued him, including that the blonde haired brat had gotten the Glyph Book. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "That kid?! How could he?!" After that, they kept on bantering back and forth, till the group below wanted to know who they were. Blados harrumphed. "So they're STILL in the dark about who we are! Let's throw this pack of dogs a bone already!" At this, the soldier above finally managed to get the machine working, and the platform descended again a bit. The soldier above howled as his fingers got caught in the machine's ropes. Blados ignored the finger that fell on his head. "Hello down there, little bugs! Don't worry, we won't squash you! Not if you continue through these caves!" Chalis gave him a look that basically said shut up, and the conversation continued.

The whole purpose of this little ambush was to separate the smart old man from the main group and to give the group the full complement of Adepts; without a Mercury Adept, the group would not be able to start up the machines that the Tuaparang wanted to start up. And it worked. After another period of bantering, during which Blados threatened to fillet them with his sword, the group finally moved on, with Kraden and his other apprentice going out the other entrance. Once that had happened, Blados had his men blow up the return entrance so that there was no way for them to get back to the other side.

Blados smiled underneath his facial cloth as they went back to the airship. Their mission was accomplished, for now, and soon they would be able to start up the Alchemy machines, gaining access to the largest weapons of the ancient world. That foolish old king in Kaocho fell easily to Chalis's wiles, and that allowed them to prepare for the arrival of the little group of Adepts.

* * *

Alright, so here's yet another chapter out VERY soon! Hope you guys like it! And thanks, anonny for your continued support! Hope you try out the little glitch that I posted in the last chapter! Oh, and there's a little circular piece of land waaaay up at the top of the outside of the map, right around where the Mars Lighthouse is, and I thought when I saw that – Wise One. It was the first thing that popped into my head. Check it out! Or…Maybe it could be the cave that Xela was put in, and in the intervening time, the land connecting it to the rest of Weyard wore off. Just a thought.


	17. Chapter 17

Rapid-fire chaptering here, huh? Yep. Well, enjoy! (Hopefully enough to review…) Oh! I got it! If you don't review, you don't get to read! HAHAHAHA! I WILL ONLY PM THE REST OF THE CHAPTERS TO THOSE WHO REVIEW! I AM SO EVIL! Oh, annony, to answer your point about how they knew Tyrell's name – they've been spying on them for a while. I'm sorry if that wasn't made clear. And I have a job offer for you! PM me! If it's a while before I respond, don't worry, I'm probably running away from the evil doctors that think I'm a needle-and-syringe storage contraption.

* * *

**Harapa**

The masked man passed by unnoticed by the small group of Adepts that were patrolling the small glowing town, apparently looking for money and items in pots and boxes. So far, the red-haired one had found a nut (which he promptly ate, earning him a solid whack on the back of the head from the green haired girl) and the blonde boy had terrified one of the fortunetellers into a coma simply by looking at her. They had yet to explore the ruins that made the city so famous and were allegedly responsible for its extravagant lightshow at night.

Alex smiled; rare was the opportunity that he got to go out in public without interference from the Tuaparang. Unfortunately, Blados and Chalis weren't far off. He could practically feel them staring holes into his back. And sure enough, when he turned around, there they were, standing none-too-subtly on top of a small rocky ledge that formed part of the walls of Harapa. He made a motion with his hands for them to go away, and Blados rolled his eyes. Turning around, he lifted his arm and a cable shot out of his sleeve, latching onto a point in the rocks many feet above him. As it pulled him upwards at a rapid rate, his partner Chalis did the same, and they disappeared from view. He turned around, looking towards the ruins, then walked over to them.

The water pavilion, he noticed, was dried up, and had been so for quite a while, it seemed, though the ground around the entrance to the underground ruins was too wet to give any sort of purchase to the feet; in other words, no simply climbing up and into the ruins over the ledge. At one point, it looked like one might have been able to cross it when the pavilion was filled with water, if the logs there were anything to go by. But time and locals in need of wood had disposed of many of the logs that had been there. Alex rubbed his chin. Certainly, the merry little band of kids would need to come back here at some point; having heard the legend of the Ice Queen, he knew that the group would need the icy woman's powers to complete their quest.

Surprisingly, it had been Blados's idea to have them go across the clouds using the Alchemy Forge; surprising in the first instance because Blados rarely came up with a god idea outside of "fillet everyone with my sword," and secondarily surprising because he had done actual research to formulate his plan. Other than that, though, there was little else to Blados's plan, though it did partially help power up the Dynamo. Then there was the Alchemy Well – starting it up as well helped power the Dynamo as well. On top of that, making the band of kids trek across the mountains in the clouds made it even less likely that the sage Kraden would catch up with them and stop them from doing what the Tuaparang wanted. And even further on top of that – the path that they had to take to get down from the sky ruins that Blados had found ended up letting out just outside the border of Morgal, where the band was going to go originally. But the Tuaparang wanted them to do other stuff as well, so the band of Adepts getting to Morgal was a shared goal of both the band of Adepts and the Tuaparang.

Nevertheless, there was the problem of time and faulty ruins. Ruins such as these were not always just right for traversing and exploring; there were kinks that made it near impossible to enter and/or obtain what they want. When Alex had traveled with Felix, Saturos, and Menardi, he had raised an eyebrow more than once at the fact that they were able to get through caves, dungeons, and the Lighthouses using "just right" situations – where seemingly arbitrarily scattered parts or stones turned out to be just the right thing that the group needed to advance – a puzzle of convenience, if you will. Everything was just so conveniently placed. But these new/old dungeons weren't in any way accessible as they were, so it had been decided in the little trio that Alex was going to "fix" the puzzles without the band of Adepts noticing.

Alex sighed as he surveyed the work he had to do. Then he took a running leap and hopped over the city walls, hunting for trees that he could cut down to make the water pavilion functional again.

* * *

**The mountains above Harapa…**

"You know, these bats are seriously – getting – on – my – nerves!" Blados growled, and he swung his massive blade again, clearing a two-foot line of bats, all of which were sliced neatly in half. Grunting, he jerked his blade so the top halves fell off of the flat of the blade, then he fell back into his new swordfighting position: one leg out, minimal weight on the foot; other leg tucked and bent so that he sort of leaned back into the pose. The sword was slung around the back of his neck, his left arm holding it up partially. Though it looked impractical, the position was actually ideal for wielding a sword as large as his and even took into account his lack of a toe on his foot. He swiveled his head around, looking for others, but there were no more of the flying creatures. Satisfied, he relaxed, and whipped a cleaning cloth out of his leg pocket, wiping it along the length of the blade until it was cleaned of all of the residue from the bats. Sighting along the blade, he finally decided that it was clean and sheathed it.

Across from him, Chalis was taking off her clawed gloves, wiping each gemstone-like point before grabbing it and pulling that finger of the glove off. She grimaced as the blood from the bats began to seep through her cleaning cloth. Annoyed, she tossed it over her shoulder and produced a new one that, unfortunately, had hygiene issues. Once she finished cleaning her gloves, she fitted them back on, cracking her knuckles as she did so. After a few minutes of bored silence, Chalis shuffled and coughed. "How long does it take to fix a simple water pavilion?" she wondered aloud. "He should be done by now." As if in response to her statement, a bright flash lit up the area around them as Alex materialized. Smiling humorlessly, he said, "We're done here. Let's go ahead and move on to the next place. Chalis, you'll need to head back to Wo's palace; you've been absent too long. He'll no doubt be getting suspicious, and that scribe of his is a viper." Chalis groused at being ordered around, but finally she disappeared in a flash of light.

Alex turned to Blados. "I am going to make sure that they can get through the Ourobouros. We wouldn't want them dying on us, now would we? What place do you fancy doing next, Blados?" The swordsman pondered the question for a few seconds before answering. "I'll do the Passaj ascent. I'll make sure that they can get up to that town. They got someone from every element now, right? Good." With a flash of light, the blue-skinned man disappeared to begin his work. Alex followed suit.

* * *

**Passaj Climb**

"Ugh…this sort of menial labor is beneath me," Blados grumbled. He patted down the last mound of soil around the ivy shoot and stepped back to admire his handiwork. Assuming those Venus Adepts actually could make plants grow, this should allow them to get up to the top without the aid of the ladders. He hmphed and turned around, heading into the zol mines to descend the cliffy passage.

Along the way, he noticed a large block of zol at the bottom of what appeared to be a giant, multilevel hole in each section of the mine. Curious, he jumped down, his descent slowed by the strong winds pushing him upwards. With a grunt, he landed lightly on the block of zol. Walking around it, he realized that it was just the top of what appeared to be a stack of blocks of zol. Jumping off the top of the stack and walking around it again, he noticed that it wasn't a stack of blocks, not per se, but instead was apparently a room of some sort. After searching carefully for a bit, he found the door, its joints hidden by the odd nature of the stone.

After he dislocated his shoulder for the eight time, he finally figured out that the door wouldn't open to brute force. He would have warped inside, but he didn't know what was inside, so he refrained from such hasty action. Finally, ticked off and at the end of his rope, he took a spark shruiken and jammed it into what appeared to be a keyhole. He jumped backwards as four larger kunai-like shruikens buried themselves into the ground, releasing a powerful electrical jolt into the door.

When the dust cleared, Blados coughed a bit, then waved his sword around in the air to clear the last of it. Squinting, he saw that his trick had worked; the little chamber was indeed now open. He ducked in, the inside somehow lit by a light that came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. In the center of the room was a pedestal with what appeared to be a carved stone sitting on it. He snorted. "I do all that, and all I get is a crazy little clay ball? Pathetic," he growled. Suddenly, the "crazy little clay ball" began levitating, as did Blados, who was powerless to stop it, though he was free to curse, which he did with gusto. Light beams began to stream out of the ball, and suddenly it flew at Blados's forehead.

He saw a color that did not have a name, and then black.

* * *

About the violence to the Tuaparang soldiers for the last few chapters – yes, I hate them. Sue me. They killed me, somehow (level 99 party, remember?), and I had just beaten the crap out of Dullahan (I mopped the floor with him, thank you very much). And I hadn't saved for the last three hours, during which time I had done all that level grinding to 99. I was ticked off. So I'm dismembering, maiming, killing, and otherwise inconveniencing them in this fanfic. Stupid stool pigeons…Anyway, how do you like it? Review! Please! Or I will follow through on my threat! *grins evilly*


	18. Chapter 18

Just two more chapters now! Don't be afraid to review! (Please review. I'm poor and am paid on a review by review basis.) Oh, and a little side note: the reason the name 'Arcanus' is in quotes like that is because Blados and Chalis still believe him to be Arcanus. When it's in quotes outside of speaking, it's meant to signify that Alex is in the character of Arcanus. One thing really quick about Blados – in the Konpa Cave, the red mark on his forehead is because Chalis socked him one there.

* * *

**Later…**

He woke to a massive headache, as if he had been binge drinking for the last ten years. Someone nudged him.

"Ugh…stupid fag," Blados groaned, and he rolled over onto his side. "Really, Blados. Such language is uncalled for. And here I was worrying about you." Blados groaned again; the voice could only belong to 'Arcanus.' Opening his eyes, he saw a shock of deep blue, almost purple. That color could only be on the bottom of the edges of the water guy's robes. "For your information, I was not referring to you, 'Arcanus'; I didn't even know you were there. I meant Freaky Ancient Gift. The things are always weird. Got any idea what it was?" 'Arcanus' shook his head as Blados stood up, ruffling his hair as he did so to get the rock and stone dust bits out of it. It was an even dirtier green color than its usual tone, due to bits of zol flecking it. He cast about for his sword, but was thwarted in his acquisition of it; he could see it, but unfortunately it was on a ledge in a crevasse far below. The only reason that Blados could see it at all was because of the gentle yet powerful light emanating from 'Arcanus.' Deflated, he walked half-heartedly over to the edge of the crevasse, sitting down with his legs hanging over. Warping wouldn't help; the ledge was far too small to Warp onto. And if one did, the whole thing was likely to collapse under the weight, probably even causing an earthquake.

'Arcanus' noticed Blados's change in demeanor, and quickly guessed the reason. It amused him greatly, but he didn't have any time to waste, as the king of Morgal, Volecheck, was getting rather impatient. So he floated down the crevasse, grabbed the sword and floated back out. Tossing it back to Blados, he asked, "When did you get that red mark on your forehead?" He pointed. Blados frowned. "What are you talking about, you –" His words died in his throat as a perfectly reflective ice block materialized in front of him, showing him what 'Arcanus was talking about. "Damnit...Can't be helped now, I suppose." The blue swordsman stood up ponderously, using the sword to help steady himself a bit. "I know you didn't come here just to help me, so why are you here?" he asked. 'Arcanus' motioned outwards on the cliff. "Those Adepts just arrived, and I thought I'd let you know, since I know that you can't sense Psynergy. Basically, we need to get out of here before they get here to this level." Indeed, his sentence was punctuated by the sound of four young voices. "Let's go; we'll meet at Belinsk. Be there for when they play the prelude." A fsshting sound signified his departure. Blados harrumphed and followed suit.

* * *

**Alchemy Dynamo, one week later**

Fighting alongside Blados and Chalis was not one of Alex's favorite things to do. He was barely able to avoid being decapitated whenever he did so, thanks to Blados's huge sword. Thus, he was now trying to convince the youth with the magma shards, Ryo Ku, to insert them into the machine to start it up. What the Tuaparang didn't know, though, was that there was another reason Alex wanted this machine started up.

For years he had wondered how and why Xela had gone. Alex knew that he wasn't anywhere powerful enough to defeat Xela, much less kill him or expel him from his body without help. Xela had left, and in a huge hurry too, so he had left behind a lot of things that he would have much rather Alex not have known, and Alex knew that the information was there. So he searched the farthest corners of his mind till he found something.

The key to controlling the Vortexes.

Xela's big mistake this time around was leaving behind that bit of information. Now, Alex didn't need to use his old overload trick; that was wasteful. Instead, he simply needed to flood them with light, Psynergetic light. Psynergy Vortexes weren't necessarily just Psynergy Vortexes. Usually, they were manifestations of extremely strong Umbra power. The reason that they sucked off one's Psynergy was because Psynergy was an energy form that easily converted into light. The Vortexes couldn't properly and efficiently "metabolize" and break down the Psynergy into the kind of light it needed, so a large portion of what it sucked from the world was simply wasted. The amount needed to make it so that the Vortexes shut down from auto-produced light was so massive it drained even Alex.

One thing that still puzzled him, though, was the fact that Blados and Chalis seemed to have no clue why they were focusing so hard on setting up all these machines over Weyard. When he had asked them, casually, almost jokingly, they had both looked at him, frozen to the spot, even after he had left the room. Ten seconds after that, he had heard Blados grumbling, "Always Warping away..", which just left him even more confused.

Until now.

Now Alex saw what Xela's plan was. He would use the Eclipse to break himself out of that realm, and at the same time make a huge, impenetrable wall of Vortexes that would sap every last drop of power out of whoever tried to get through them to him. And because of this, the Wise One wouldn't be able to do anything, since he was a being of pure power; such a great number of Vortexes would sap even his strength. But Alex had other plans for the Eclipse. Or, rather, for Luna Tower.

Blados and Chalis had been talking about the machine called the Apollo Lens, and how they were going to use it as the biggest weapon in the world. Alex saw instantly that it was going to be Xela's backup plan to the Vortexes in getting rid of the Wise One.

To this end, since neither Blados nor Chalis yet totally distrusted him, he used his influence to push them, subtly, towards his own aims and goals. So far, it had worked.

Alex had considered stopping the Tuaparang once and for all, and put an end to the dream of activating Luna Tower, but the problem with that is that it left the possibility open that it could be activated in the future, when Alex was no longer there to stop it.

Finally, Ryo Ku inserted the magma orb into the machine. What happened next startled Alex.

"How the hell did they beat us?" Alex whirled around in surprise. He gawked at the scene in front of him internally. Blados and Chalis were kneeling down, badly wounded 'It's Jupiter Lighthouse all over again,' he thought, but kept a straight face and an even disposition. He noted, now with some pleasure, that the sage Kraden was with them. That was good; now they had proper guidance.

As he began to pay more attention to Blados and Chalis, he realized that their wounds were severe enough to hamper their ability to move. Sighing, he Warped to them and grabbed onto their shoulders, and began Warping them out, conversing with the children below as he did so.

When they got out of the dangerous tower, Alex unceremoniously dumped the two warriors onto the ground. "Really? You let a bunch of kids get the better of you? Pathetic." However, Alex doubted that the two Tuaparang generals could have beaten the little group; Blados's little incident last week had done nothing for him at all, which was rather confusing considering the fact that such ancient artifacts usually conveyed some sort of power on the person that it attached itself to. All it gave Blados was migraines every noon and a red mark on his forehead. Chalis was an okay warrior; not bad , but not as good as Blados was, though she packed a mean right hook (and left hook, come to think of it). Unfortunately, all she could do was slash with her gloves and toss her perfume out at the enemies. Though, the perfume did make it hard for enemies to focus correctly – it was strong stuff, stiffer than a five-pint of vodka. Blados had dropped a bottle of it one time – it had cracked open and the blue man had been out of commission for a week. That's not to say that he was bedridden and couldn't move; quite the contrary. He had made an absolute ass of himself, trying to kiss Chalis and asking Alex to be the best man. And he had done it all with a straight face.

Blados made a face. "You try fighting them; they're determined little brats, especially that spoiled little Ayuthay bastard prince. Honestly, even his own father didn't want anything to do with h-HUUUUURKKKKK!" This interesting noise was the product of Alex's hand chopping the swordsman's windpipe faster than any of them could see.

* * *

**Tuaparang Airship, Hangar (the future)**

"So are you sure everything is in place? W will only have one shot," Chalis said to her partner. The swordsman nodded. "They've set up target points for us. It'll be easy, especially if the rock doesn't move. According to what I've heard, he doesn't much leave the sanctum ruins." Chalis smiled. "Then everything is going according to plan! Excellent," she said, practically rubbing her hands together in glee.

[The same place, but in a different dimension]

"Yes…it is, isn't it?" A face split with a malevolent grin was briefly illuminated by light coming from the Vortex he was currently manipulating. The face hissed in pain and squinted as it was suddenly assaulted with massive amounts of light from the Vortex. "Dammit, Alex…when I get out, the first thing I'm going to do is murder you. I admire your resolve in trying to get rid of me by trying to commit suicide, but that doesn't change the fact that I am really ticked off at what you've done to hinder my plans. Not that it will affect anything in the end, though."

* * *

Long update wait, I know. And the same will probably be true of the next one. Maybe I'll do a few more than just two chapters. I'll make a sequel though, where these events are explained outside of canon. Thanks annony for your continued support! (Btw, I think someone's in my account. If anything funky happens, that's probably why...


	19. Chapter 19

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it, my friends? Well, when I say I'm gonna finish something, I mean it. So sorry about the long wait period but life has been preeeetty hectic as of late. But enough of that. On with the story!

**Apollo Ascent**

The band of Adepts had passed before them, that much was certain. All the other times they had come here, the way had been blocked by stones too large and smoothed over to get up and around, or a waterfall barred their way. Blados and Chalis now found it rather easier to ascend, though they were more than a little disconcerted to find that their Warping ability was on the fritz. The scene went something like this:

"Blados, was it your intent to Warp into that tree in that beehive?" asked 'Arcanus' as Chalis tried to wring out her hair.

Alex found that his was also on lockdown, a trait that puzzled all three of them, though he could still levitate. Which he did, much to the annoyance of his companions, though they kept their ire to themselves. Last week's display of anger from 'Arcanus' had nearly killed Blados when he tossed him off the airship once again (this time Blados broke both his legs, arms, and completely shattered his pelvis and four ribs), though once he had calmed down, 'Arcanus' had healed him.

So they climbed in silent rage, though they did not pretend that it was useful to have an ally in the sky blasting away the rather high-powered monsters that would every so often attempt to waylay the group.

Descending to their level, 'Arcanus' landed lightly on a ledge, beckoning them closer. Rolling his eyes, Blados came over, wincing as a stray bee caught in his hair found its way free and stung him before buzzing off to die. "So the other Tuaparang are going to meet us at the top with Volecheck, correct?" he asked, his hand cradling his chin. "Yes, Arcanus. We've been through this a thousand times. Why so jittery all of the sudden? Soon our shared goal of destroying the Wise One will come to be a reality, thanks to those foolish whelps." Chalis sidled over, smiling venomously. "Unless you are having second thoughts, my dear," she cooed, sliding a ruby-clawed glove over his shoulder. The Mercury Adept's eyes flashed dangerously, and she sauntered off to Blados's side. "My only concern is to see him gone, yes. I simply do not wish for anything to go…amiss," he said. His tone conveyed what Blados and Chalis had been fearing, and they exchanged glances. _He knows,_ they thought simultaneously. Though they were not telepathic, they had developed a sort of code with their eye movements and were able to communicate rudimentary ideas. _Now? _Chalis signaled. _No, wait top,_ said Blados.

Internally, Alex smiled. _Good, _he thought. _I've unsettled them. Now they'll have to deal with that when they fight the kids. And I'll be free to end this, once and for all. _His eyes cast skyward, looking for a faint blue glow on the horizon. _Free to return home…_

**Imil**

Mia sat in bed, staring at the mask hung on her wall for what must have been the thousandth time, hoping that it would divulge Alex's fate, his whereabouts. And for what must have been the thousandth time, it remained still, stoic, and blank, devoid of any answers. She heaved a great sigh and stood up. The alarm bell was ringing again; the never-ending onslaught of monsters had broken through the ice walls again. Grabbing her staff, she hastily donned her battle gear, then ran out the door to the front gates.

They had decided that, instead of just making the wall so thick and impenetrable nothing could get through it, that letting periodic monster strikes through would be the better option. Thanks to a huge, unbreakable dome of clear ice that Mia had created, the inside of the icy town of Imil was quite safe from the unnatural night that had seized a huge portion of Weyard in its grip. However, they did not want to be stuck with a legion of these foul fiends outside their doors if the Eclipse ever ended. Thus the periodic strikes, as near to the Lighthouse as possible. As it was, they were barely getting supplies from Bilibin. Ivan arrived weary and smeared in monster viscera every time. Having no healing capabilities of his own, he had to rely on items, which were in extraordinarily short supply.

As she approached the gate, she could see Ivan ripping monsters apart, lightning crackling on his weathered dual staffs (iron veins were wrapped around it like mesh) he had adopted since the start of the Eclipse. However, he was already looking winded. "More of the Skorpnas…these things never quit," he panted as she came to his side. Blood flowed freely from an open wound on his left leg, which she promptly healed. She tossed him a pair of Psy Crystals, and he nodded, crushing one and pocketing the other. Then they rushed into the fray.

Ice sent at one Scuttler turned it into a sculpture of terror that was immediately shattered by a lumbering Skorpna that rushed the pair. Dancing away from its attack, Ivan lashed out with his staffs, sending pure voltage humming down their lengths. The Skorpna shrieked in agony and collapsed, cooked from the inside out. Four more of its kind came to replace it, two of which shared its fate, while Mia somersaulted over the pair that came at her and cast more Ice spikes at them. Three Scuttlers tried to jump-ambush Ivan, but he used a Tornado to lift them up and away from him, sending them shrieking into the freezing waters of the northern seas, where they soon turned into ice blocks. A deformed Mauler came at them next, but was cut down by a Glutton and was –

"Did it just eat that Mauler?" Ivan gasped in disbelief. Mia was just as shocked, and they were about to be even more shocked as it totally ignored them and began eating the other monsters. Ivan shook his head, equally amused and disgusted. The other monsters simply could not defend against the ravenous jaws of the ironically gluttonous Glutton, and soon were chased off, the crazy creature following close behind. "Well, that was the easiest monster repelling we've had to do," remarked Mia, a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips. Ivan nodded, breathing deeply to calm his heart rate. A roar of displeasure seemed to imply that the Glutton's quarry had escaped. "I had better reform the gates; it'll be coming back, most likely," said Mia, and she rolled up her sleeves, her hands glowing with repressed Mercury Psynergy. "I'll go check on the supply gate; last time, they broke through around this time," Ivan informed her before he took off into the air. Mia sighed; he had forgotten to let her heal him. She turned back around and began the arduous task of recreating the gate.

A sudden, deep-seated rumbling cut through the icy silence. Even though it was obviously far off, it was somehow terrifying, filled with power and portent. Mia ceased laboring at her task as she watched a bright light flash in the distance, near the heart of the Eclipse. Just south of the source…

**Apollo Sanctum, the hangar of the Tuaparang Airship**

"Alright, let's move out, men. You're all suited up? Good. Prepare for drop!" Blados had been bellowing orders at the poor group of soldiers for the last ten minutes as they scrambled to get ready for the ambush of the children at the apex of the sanctum. Oddly enough, their Warping abilities had become functional once again as soon as the children had opened the top gate to the main sanctum. Arcanus had vanished once that had happened, which worried both Blados and Chalis, but they could not do anything else about it. Getting the deformed Volecheck atop the Sanctum had been hard enough; having him stay there was even harder.

"Looks like they're here…Shall we, Blados?" Chalis asked in a disarmingly innocent tone. Blados harrumphed and turned away. "Let's go!" he shouted, and the men jumped into their pods and dropped, activating their parachutes as the pods fell. _They're just cannon fodder to soften up the kids…Fools,___thought Blados. Blados nodded to Chalis and they spun into the air, flashing out of vision to the ground below to accost the children.

…Only to be confronted by Arcanus, who now revealed himself to be…

"So you're _the _Alex, are you? And here we thought you were a friend," simpered Chalis, once they had Warped away to a different place. Blados just scowled beneath his facial cloth. "I always knew there was something up with you…This just proves it," he said, drawing his sword. "And you think you can…handle us? Feh. Let's see you try." He leapt at Alex, swinging his blade, aiming for his head, and –

Suddenly, the world went black for him.

When he came to, he was on his back, sopping wet. Chalis was in a similar position across from him. Alex stood in front of them, his whole body glowing with power, floating somewhat above the ground. His eyes were blazing blue, brimming with cerulean fires. "This is my true power," he intoned. "So, yes, I can handle you, and then some. Go, or I shall end you." Shaken, Blados stood up. "And why are you letting us go?" he asked, awed, but still somewhat cocky. The eyes fixed upon him. "Because there is another I must attend to. So go. Do as you will, no matter where you go, defeat lies inevitably for you." Blados stepped back, shakily, then Warped away. Chalis stood up as well, finally. Alex turned towards the north, facing away from her. "Why?" she asked, simply. "Because I must," replied the floating avatar of Mercury. She nodded. "I understand," she said. With that, she Warped away.

Alex floated there for a moment longer, in thought. Finally, he raised his head, his eyes blazing once more. "Now, to end this." He flashed, brightly, then was gone.

So this is the next to last chapter, but I will likely be refining bits and pieces of the story from here on out. And the last chapter will be a special one – likely much longer than any of the previous ones. I hope you guys enjoy this! Thanks, Temnascentric.


	20. Chapter 20

Hoooooo...It's been a VERY long time since I updated this one. Sorry about that. But here's the final chapter of Dreams, Past and Present!

* * *

In the darkness, the void between all existence, a figure floated. To its right was a corona of brilliant light, resting on one side of a scale. To its left was a black, molten purple vortex of oblivion, sitting on the other end of the scale. The figure held the scale with both hands. A battle was being waged, one between two entities of terrible power. The outcome of the struggle would determine the very fate of Weyard itself. Fate sat indifferent in the void between the powers.

For once, the Wise One would have been rendered a mere bystander when measured against the two forces clashing here, were he able to interfere. There was no longer a safetynet.

* * *

By the controls of the Apollo Lens, a wearied but determined group of young heroes stood in the way of the Tuaparang generals Blados and Chalis, who were aided in battle by a gigantic hound-like monster. A momentary silence fell across the battlefield. Then noise once again enveloped it as the combatants re-engaged in furious struggles.

Blados targeted Matthew as they rejoined their battle, slashing downwards at the teen. His massive sword was met and stopped by an equally gigantic blade wielded by the young warrior. Discordant notes rang out as the swords contacted, the metals singing their tones. "You can't beat us. You know that. Give up now, before I do something you'll regret," growled Blados. Matthew didn't answer with words, instead flinging out Psynergy at the man. Blados roared his annoyance to the world when the vines that grew from the ground poked him in the eyes. He swung blindly with his nōdachi, slicing through the vines that quested from the ground towards him and barely missing Matthew. Almost immediately, Tyrell leaped at the temporarily blinded swordsman, smashing him with massive amounts of fire. Shrieking in rage, Blados Warped away, and the Chaos Hound lumbered towards Matthew and Tyrell. The wounded Blados rematerialized next to Chalis and rubbed his aching eyes before aiding his fellow general in fighting Rief and Karis. Before either side could land any real damage, a howl rang out from the other side of the battlefield as the Chaos Hound was felled. The rest of the heroes had ganged up on the creature and brought it to its knees within a matter of seconds. Blados and Chalis exchanged a look and immediately Warped to the stricken monster's sides, bringing the fight to an uneasy stalemate. "Pathetic. How do a bunch of children beat the elite of the Tuaparang Empire?" Chalis shook her head in disappointment. "Blados, I think it's time to fall back on our alternate plan. Let's call on the power of Dark Binding!"

The two Tuaparang generals flashed with power. Almost immediately after that, the wounded Chaos Hound struggled to its feet, then straightened up as if electrified. It loosed a primal, bloodcurdling howl as it was wrapped in a darkening aura. The sickening feeling hit all the Adepts at the same time. Foul energies began to siphon through the base of the sanctum, pooling around the hound.

"What is...that? In the shadows?" Rief groaned through the nausea. Kraden looked ill as well when he answered his student. "Dark spirits! They're merging with the energies of the eclipse!" The Tuaparang generals had a smug look on their faces as they watched their handiwork. But it was wiped off their faces as everything seemed to – shift – and a ripple that was more felt than seen passed through reality. It destabilized the process and the smug looks disappeared as their now-awry spell began to classify them as valid targets for incorporation. The Chaos Hound howled as the wave passed through it, thrashing its limbs around even more violently. "No! I'm getting pulled in too!" Blados shouted, a little unnecessarily. He could see that, on the other side of the Chaos Hound, Chalis was also being dragged towards the swirling pool of dark power that had encircled the beast. Despite the rising panic that was clawing at her insides, Chalis shouted back, "We can't let Matthew's whelps win! If we're absorbed, then so be it!" Hersense of duty, always a strong driving force in her character, tempered her fear somewhat.

With a flash, the two generals disappeared, and the dark energies that surrounded the hound thickened considerably, obscuring the beast for a handful of seconds. When it cleared, a fell behemoth stood before them. Tattered black wings grew from its back. It had four arms, two of which came from the Tuaparang generals. It held a gigantic nōdachi in the hand of one blue-clad arm. The other side had what was once the left arm of Chalis, grossly enlarged, but still clothed in red and with a red-clawed glove fitted on the hand. Beneath its floating feet swirled a twisting, nebulous vortex of dark power. A deathly, sickening gloom flowed from it as the baleful gaze of the malevolent entity fell upon the group of Adepts, who readied themselves for a fight the likes of which the world of Weyard had never seen.

* * *

Shortly before Blados and Chalis had engaged the young Adepts, Alex had Warped away from Apollo Sanctum, emerging from the dimension between worlds in the ruins of the Elemental Star room once more. He was not alone, much to his relief. "So, Alex... you have come here once more. Have you decided on what you shall do?" the Wise One asked. The guardian's single eye blinked slowly as he awaited the Adept's answer. "I will finish this, one way or the other," Alex replied. "This must end. I came here, though, not to discuss what I am going to do; rather, I want to know what your role will be." The Wise One blinked again. "I may not interfere unless – " Alex waved his hand, cutting off the guardian. "Yes, yes, I know what you're going to say. You can't interfere unless the world is in immediate danger. If you had not noticed, the world is in immediate danger. As are you." Seeing as it was his only feature, the Wise One's eye conveyed his shock. "Had you been observing the world more closely, particularly the actions of the Tuaparang, you would have realized that the Apollo Lens is currently aimed at Sol Sanctum. Should it hit here, the devastation will be on a scale too horrible to comprehend. And I doubt that even you can survive such a force." The Wise One blinked again. "To be taught by one so young... You are correct, Alex." The Water Adept nodded and prepared to Warp away, but the Wise One called out to him. "Before you go... Come. I shall unlock the power denied to you at Mt. Aleph's summit those many years ago." Astonished, Alex looked at the guardian in shock. "It is high time that I begin preventing the events that force me to intervene. I only hope that I have not reached this conclusion too late. Be forewarned, Alex. The foe you go to face is now far more powerful than he has ever been. I should have intervened when I could have, but I did not. Now, he is more powerful than even I, when you take into account his ability to create the Vortexes. Do not abuse this power, Alex... and do not fail, for if you should... there will be no stopping him. It will all be over."

* * *

The world between worlds lit up as Alex Warped into existence. A scant few meters in front of him, his foe floated smugly, self-assuredly. "And then there were two," Xela said mockingly. "I wondered when that old rock would finally intervene. Not that he can do anything – or you, for that matter." Alex didn't respond to the taunts, instead summoning his power. Twin balls of cobalt light coalesced in his palms, burning brightly and humming with destructive force. Xela cackled derisively. "How adorable. You're going to try to fight me anyway. If you want to die so badly, I'll be happy to grant your wish. Know this though: just as I did with Alexander, I'll make sure that little lover of yours never sees the light of day again when I get out. It's the least I can AAAAARK!" Before Xela could complete his threat, Alex was at his throat, crushing it in a grip of iron. This interesting noise was produced by the last few words attempting to force themselves out of a hole that was now the approximate diameter of a straw. Alex's eyes blazed with fury, and his Psynergy, usually so controlled despite its strength, was visibly on the verge of being let go. Power crackled around the enraged Adept. With a throb, the lid flipped open ever so slightly. A wave of pure Psynergetic power ripped through the planes of existence, causing woe to Blados and Chalis. Speaking as if in great pain, Alex ground out, "I made a promise to her once. I swore to her that I would never let her be hurt by you again. I didn't keep it once. I don't intend on letting it happen again. Ever." Alex's grip tightened even further, accompanied by a wet crunching noise as Xela's esophagus gave in to the immense pressure. Xela's eyes bulged as his air supply dwindled. His hands scrabbled impotently at Alex's death grip on his trachea, to no avail. Suddenly, just as soon as he had grabbed him, Alex let go. Wheezing and bent double, Xela fell back in the void. Xela began to speak, but was cut off by a severe fit of coughing as his throat announced its irritation. When he recovered, he managed to hack out, "What the hell happened to you? You were never this strong." Alex's eyes flashed electrically in response.

For the first time in many, many centuries, Xela felt fear.

* * *

Wheezing, Amiti doubled over as the avatar of darkness before him leapt back from its attack to avoid Tyrell's angry counter. Sadly for the beast, it misjudged the Adept's control of the flames and received a blasting of lava in the gut. While it was howling its rage to the heavens, Tyrell helped Amiti up. "You ok?" he asked. "Not really. Tapped out," gasped the wounded Mercury Adept. Tyrell grinned and tossed him a Psy Crystal. Amiti returned the smile as he crushed the item, his eyes dilating as his power returned to him in a vigorous stream. "Better," he laughed mirthlessly. Despite its initial seeming indefatigability, the monster that they now faced was rather clumsy and weak, compared to the many horrendous demons they had fought in the far-flung and well-hidden dungeons across Weyard (perhaps because it had not had many years to come to grips with its power, but that was mere speculation on Kraden's part).

By no means, however, was the fight an easy one. Though it was not as desperate as the ones against Dullahan or Star Magician, the beast they faced just wouldn't die.

Almost an hour into the struggle, Matthew landed a massive attack with his Sol Blade, the weapon singing out a deadly tune of pain as it unleashed Megiddo. The Chaos Chimera howled its fury to the world, a bone-chilling wail of terror. Everyone's blood seemed to freeze in their veins as the demonic avatar bound them in a hateful gaze. It roared and launched itself skyward, screaming at an excruciating volume. It crashed into them with what felt like the force of a meteor. The Adepts were scattered in all directions.

Himi cried out as her frail frame was blasted into the back of the controls for the Apollo Lens. Something snapped audibly, and her leg was twisted at an angle that wasn't natural. Eoleo, of all people, lost it when he saw her like that. He had always been protective of the gentle Izuman princess (despite the whole stereotype of how the pirate is supposed to kidnap the princess and stuff like that, he had watched over her like a big brother). A savage scream of pure rage alerted the Chimera to the Mars Adept's attack, which rammed straight into its face. Keening in agony, the fell beast backed away from the group, lashing out blindly with its sword. Rief was caught unawares by the blade and was borne aloft by it, barely escaping being chopped in half thanks to his mace. He landed unceremoniously on Karis, who cried out in surprise at the sudden impact. Both tumbled to the ground in a heap. Sveta, now in her beastform, lumbered over and righted the both of them by picking up each in a massive paw and setting them down gently. Despite having fought alongside the fierce Morgal princess in her beastform many times before, Rief still let out a small yelp when he saw her, not having expected the sight of teeth and claws to greet him. It was understandable; the first time she had transformed in front of him, he had gone up a tree much faster than he came out of it (an impressive feat considering he had fallen out of said tree). Sveta was used to it, though, and padded back to join the fight. The Chaos Chimera's shrieks of pain increased greatly moments later, coinciding with Sveta's roars of effort.

* * *

In the void between worlds, the struggle between Alex and the terrible blight from the past continued. Neither was willing to give any ground to the other. Currently, they were locked in a fierce contest of wills, straining against the other's arms as they tried to break the other's defense. Veins bulged in Xela's forehead, and Alex grit his teeth with the strain. Cords stood out in his neck. "You will not best ME, you worthless upstart. I was ancient and powerful before even your ancestors were born!" Alex's response came in the form of a knee to the shin. Hissing in pain, Xela relaxed his grip for a split second. It was all the opening Alex needed. Releasing Xela's hands from the deathgrip he had had on them, he pulled his fist back and landed a rage-and-Psynergy backed punch to his enemy's torso. Ribs snapped audibly. Wheezing wetly, Xela folded up like an accordian and fell back, spitting up gobs of blood from his apparently punctured lungs. His hand glowed a dirty purple-blue as he passed it over the broken ribs, and they snapped back into place. Almost immediately, though, they snapped again, making the ancient Adept howl in pain. Alex's lips turned upwards in a tight, grim smile as he clenched his fist. The leftover Psynergy that he had loaded into his attack detonated as planned, rebreaking the ribs when Xela's unstable Vortex-backed Psynergy passed through it to heal the bones. Eyes shining in hate, Xela passed his hands over his ribs once more, bringing them back to their original positions. However, this time, the break hadn't gone all inwards. A blossom of blood flowered on Xela's tattered robes, right where the break had been. Cursing, Xela ripped the top off, leaving his chest bare. Interestingly enough, where the skin had broken, the skin was scarred and pitted, despite having just been healed. It seemed almost unnatural and unhealthy.

With a start, Alex realized that Xela was channeling Vortex power through his own body. Though that had allowed him to match Alex blow for blow initially, with the Eclipse still in full effect, the Vortexes he still had active were no longer sucking in as much elemental power, and thus were not bringing in the vast quantities of "clean" power that overrode the darker nature of the evil power in the Vortexes. The power from those fell holes in the world was hurting Xela. It was nearly over. One way or the other, Xela would not win.

Alex had been monitoring the battle at the Apollo Lens, and thus noted Matthew's fruitless attempts to mount the controls of the Lens. He sent a Psynergy-laden message to the young Adept to try to stop him from killing himself. Like his father, he didn't listen.

* * *

"We...We did it."

Coughing and spitting, Eoleo leaned on his axe. He wiped his mouth on his leathern outfit. "You don't say, pipsqueak." Amiti huffed in indignation. Behind him, the other members of the group attempted to rise, with varying levels of success. Rief gave up after his fifth fall, instead waiting for Matthew to come along and pass out the potions.

"Kkkkck...Looks like we lose." A rough male voice hacked through the haze that was now dispersing from the battlefield. The group froze.

"Hhhmhhm...The darkness will fade," followed a pained female voice. A mournful wail punctuated that last statement. "Look!" cried Amiti, a tad unnecessarily. "They separated!" Eoleo rolled his eyes and muttered, "You don't say." Amiti shot him a murderous glare and Eoleo backed away, his hands held up in a sign of peace. Before Amiti could decide on whether to freeze the Mars pirate or drown him, Sveta let out a howl of anguish.

"My brother!" she sobbed, collapsing into a heap beside the stricken Chaos Hound – or was it? Now that they weren't busy being clobbered by it, the group could see vestigial remnants of the ruler of Morgal, Volechek. They all gasped in horror. "H-how could this happen?"

Chalis chuckled, then cried out as her ribs made her regret the muscle movement. "I can tell you. As Volechek was nobly sacrificing himself, we used Dark Psynergy to *hm* save him." The band of Adepts looked at her in disgust. With a rare note of seeming sympathy in his voice, Blados said, "No undoing what we did, either. He wouldn't survive another big shock to his system."

Beneath the conversation, Sveta was listening to her brother's inner voice. Half was monster, half was the king of Morgal. The beast was subdued now, wounded and powerless. But her brother couldn't see her even now. And that hurt more than any of the many dozens of injuries she now had. At the edge of her awareness, she heard Matthew try to volunteer to turn on the Apollo Lens, and subsequently get blasted back several times. Then She felt, rather than heard, Alex's words to Matthew. "I – I can do it," she gasped through her tears. She sniffled once more, her catlike nose twitching with her ears, then pushed herself to her feet and walked over to Matthew.

The rest of the events that passed between Sveta and Matthew, none can say for sure save they themselves. The bonding of two souls is no small matter. But however, whatever happened, it saw them to the top of the Lens, and it awakened the half-dead Volechek from his misery. All he saw was his sister in danger. He saw the pain in her eyes as she knew that it would be the last act she would ever do. And he saw Matthew there with her, his strange existence allowing him to see far more than the fact that Matthew was aiding her. His sister had seen enough pain in her lifetime. He wouldn't let her lose her life and possibly the one person she could ever care about. Roaring at the thought, a savage pain flared down his spine for a brief second. Muscle thrashed itself together as adrenaline burst through his veins. He leaped up and howled. Then, in a single bound, he was on top of the controls. At this point, he realized that perhaps whacking her off the platform might not have been the best of ideas. But there was Matthew, rushing to catch her. Satisfied that she was safe, he turned and embraced happily his fate.

* * *

Bleeding profusely from many wounds, Xela hung limp in the darkness. He was beaten, limp, and utterly broken. Alex sneered at him. "Let this be a lesson to you. That was but a fraction of what I am truly capable of now." Xela's eyes widened in rapidly rising panic. Over the years, he had come to know when someone was telling the truth, and when they were bluffing.

This was no bluff.

But then a truly evil thought came to his mind. Faking contrition, he whimpered and tried to get away from Alex. The latter grimaced at the sight of the once-mighty Adept reduced to such a state and blasted him in the back with a light ball of raw Psynergy. Trailing a stream of obscenities, the ancient Adept sped off into the darkness of the void.

When he was sure Alex could not see him, he allowed himself a grin of pure evil.

The Mourning Moon would come early this cycle.

* * *

Um... Ok so I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I kinda lied. It's getting away from me. But the next one will be, I swear! And you won't have to wait another year for it, I promise.


End file.
